Electrically driven photonic crystal nanocavity devices

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel fabrication method for electrically pumped photonic crystal nanocavity devices, achieving record low lasing thresholds and ultrafast modulation, advancing practical on-chip photonic applications.

Contribution

Developed a fabrication process for electrically pumped photonic crystal devices with record low lasing threshold and high-speed modulation capabilities.

Findings

Achieved lasing with a threshold of 181 nA at 50K.

Demonstrated room-temperature LED operation with 10 GHz modulation.

Built integrated electro-optic modulators and photodetectors.

Abstract

Interest in photonic crystal nanocavities is fueled by advances in device performance, particularly in the development of low-threshold laser sources. Effective electrical control of high performance photonic crystal lasers has thus far remained elusive due to the complexities associated with current injection into cavities. A fabrication procedure for electrically pumping photonic crystal membrane devices using a lateral p-i-n junction has been developed and is described in this work. We have demonstrated electrically pumped lasing in our junctions with a threshold of 181 nA at 50K - the lowest threshold ever demonstrated in an electrically pumped laser. At room temperature we find that our devices behave as single-mode light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which when directly modulated, have an ultrafast electrical response up to 10 GHz corresponding to less than 1 fJ/bit energy operation - the lowest for any optical transmitter. In addition, we have demonstrated electrical pumping of photonic crystal nanobeam LEDs, and have built fiber taper coupled electro-optic modulators. Fiber-coupled photodetectors based on two-photon absorption are also demonstrated as well as multiply integrated components that can be independently electrically controlled. The presented electrical injection platform is a major step forward in providing practical low power and integrable devices for on-chip photonics.