Launch of hybrid silicon-based laser. This laser pointer laser is based on the existing silicon-based waveguide chip, and directly bonds the mature III-V semiconductor laser, so that the two components are combined into a hybrid silicon-based laser. Similarly, silicon itself is not a light source. Hybrid lasers have poor compatibility with existing silicon processes and can cause lattice mismatch problems.
The silicon laser developed this time is different from the past. Its light-emitting material (gain medium) is silicon itself (silicon nanocrystalline material). The laser can be used on silicon chips, so it is a true all-silicon laser. The research team of Fudan University first borrowed and developed a high-density silicon nanocrystalline thin film preparation technology, thereby significantly improving the luminous intensity of the silicon nanocrystalline light-emitting layer.
Afterwards, in order to overcome the problem that conventional hydrogen passivation methods cannot fully saturate the dangling bond defects, they developed a new high-pressure low-temperature hydrogen passivation method to make the optical gain of the silicon nanocrystalline light-emitting layer reach the usual III-V laser. Pointer material level; on this basis, they designed and prepared corresponding distributed feedback (DFB) resonators, and finally successfully obtained optically pumped DFB-type all-silicon lasers.
This kind of laser not only overcomes the problems of lattice mismatch and poor process compatibility that may occur during the growth of semiconductor materials, but at the same time, as the second richest element on the surface, silicon as the optical gain material can also avoid rare elements such as Excessive dependence on gallium, indium, etc. It is reported that in the future, the team will further develop and improve the electric pumping technology to promote the industrial development of all-silicon lasers.