Monolithically integrated waveguide-coupled single-frequency microlaser on erbium-doped thin film lithium niobate

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel monolithic microring laser on erbium-doped lithium niobate, demonstrating low-loss integration and single-frequency operation around 1531 nm, advancing integrated photonics applications.

Contribution

It introduces the PLACE fabrication technique for low-loss, monolithic integration of erbium-doped lithium niobate microlasers, enabling scalable on-chip laser production.

Findings

Single-frequency operation at 1531 nm achieved

Low propagation loss demonstrated in integrated waveguides

Potential for mass production of on-chip microlasers

Abstract

We overcome the difficulty in realizing a monolithic waveguide-coupled microring laser integrated on erbium-doped thin film lithium niobate (Er: TFLN) using photolithography assisted chemo-mechanical etching (PLACE) technique. We demonstrate an integrated single-frequency microring laser operating around 1531 nm wavelength. The PLACE technique, enabling integrated Er: TFLN photonics with low propagation loss, can thus be used to realize low cost mass production of monolithic on-chip microlasers with applications ranging from optical communication and photonic integrated circuit (PIC) to precision metrology and large-scale sensing.