Electro-Optically Activated, Si-Based Laser for All-Optic Integrated Systems

In this STTR effort, Structured Materials Industries, Inc. (SMI), in collaboration with our academic and industrial partners will design, develop, and demonstrate an electro-optically activated, silicon-based laser based on specially designed nanoscale photonic structures. The technology to be developed and matured in this effort will overcome the main limitations to realization of the high-density integrated-optic circuits required for chip-scale photonic networks in silicon -- achieving a practical Si based laser. Importantly, our approach includes the fundamental ability to be electrically pumped, a key requirement for truly unleashing the promise of silicon photonics. Moreover, the structures developed under this program will form the building blocks for a family of devices based on active silicon nanophotonics, thereby providing low power, high bandwidth, high speed and ultra-small optoelectronic components to several markets. In Phase I of this project, we propose to expand our fabrication of preliminary nanoscale cavity devices to address the development of an electronically driven laser on a silicon chip. In Phase II we will complete development of the devices and finalize a route for integrating passive and active components into complex, electro-optical systems on a single silicon chip.