File Download

There are no files associated with this item.

  Links for fulltext
     (May Require Subscription)
Supplementary

Article: 3D integration enables ultralow-noise isolator-free lasers in silicon photonics

Title3D integration enables ultralow-noise isolator-free lasers in silicon photonics
Authors
Issue Date2-Aug-2023
PublisherNature Research
Citation
Nature, 2023, v. 620, n. 7972, p. 78-85 How to Cite?
Abstract

Photonic integrated circuits are widely used in applications such as telecommunications and data-centre interconnects1,2,3,4,5. However, in optical systems such as microwave synthesizers6, optical gyroscopes7 and atomic clocks8, photonic integrated circuits are still considered inferior solutions despite their advantages in size, weight, power consumption and cost. Such high-precision and highly coherent applications favour ultralow-noise laser sources to be integrated with other photonic components in a compact and robustly aligned format—that is, on a single chip—for photonic integrated circuits to replace bulk optics and fibres. There are two major issues preventing the realization of such envisioned photonic integrated circuits: the high phase noise of semiconductor lasers and the difficulty of integrating optical isolators directly on-chip. Here we challenge this convention by leveraging three-dimensional integration that results in ultralow-noise lasers with isolator-free operation for silicon photonics. Through multiple monolithic and heterogeneous processing sequences, direct on-chip integration of III–V gain medium and ultralow-loss silicon nitride waveguides with optical loss around 0.5 decibels per metre are demonstrated. Consequently, the demonstrated photonic integrated circuit enters a regime that gives rise to ultralow-noise lasers and microwave synthesizers without the need for optical isolators, owing to the ultrahigh-quality-factor cavity. Such photonic integrated circuits also offer superior scalability for complex functionalities and volume production, as well as improved stability and reliability over time. The three-dimensional integration on ultralow-loss photonic integrated circuits thus marks a critical step towards complex systems and networks on silicon.


Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/331901
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 50.5
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 18.509
ISI Accession Number ID

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorXiang, C-
dc.contributor.authorJin, WR-
dc.contributor.authorTerra, O-
dc.contributor.authorDong, BZ-
dc.contributor.authorWang, HM-
dc.contributor.authorWu, L-
dc.contributor.authorGuo, JL-
dc.contributor.authorMorin, TJ-
dc.contributor.authorHughes, E-
dc.contributor.authorPeters, J-
dc.contributor.authorJi, QX-
dc.contributor.authorFeshali, A-
dc.contributor.authorPaniccia, M-
dc.contributor.authorVahala, KJ-
dc.contributor.authorBowers, JE-
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-28T04:59:28Z-
dc.date.available2023-09-28T04:59:28Z-
dc.date.issued2023-08-02-
dc.identifier.citationNature, 2023, v. 620, n. 7972, p. 78-85-
dc.identifier.issn0028-0836-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/331901-
dc.description.abstract<p>Photonic integrated circuits are widely used in applications such as telecommunications and data-centre interconnects<sup><a title="Margalit, N. et al. Perspective on the future of silicon photonics and electronics. Appl. Phys. Lett. 118, 220501 (2021)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR1">1</a>,<a title="Doerr, C. Silicon photonic integration in telecommunications. Front. Phys. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2015.00037 (2015)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR2">2</a>,<a title="Thomson, D. et al. Roadmap on silicon photonics. J. Optics 18, 073003 (2016)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR3">3</a>,<a title="Cheng, Q., Bahadori, M., Glick, M., Rumley, S. & Bergman, K. Recent advances in optical technologies for data centers: a review. Optica 5, 1354–1370 (2018)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR4">4</a>,<a title="Soref, R. The past, present, and future of silicon photonics. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 12, 1678–1687 (2006)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR5">5</a></sup>. However, in optical systems such as microwave synthesizers<sup><a title="Marpaung, D., Yao, J. & Capmany, J. Integrated microwave photonics. Nat. Photon. 13, 80–90 (2019)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR6">6</a></sup>, optical gyroscopes<sup><a title="Lefevre, H. C. The Fiber-optic Gyroscope (Artech House, 2014)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR7">7</a></sup> and atomic clocks<sup><a title="Ludlow, A. D., Boyd, M. M., Ye, J., Peik, E. & Schmidt, P. O. Optical atomic clocks. Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 637 (2015)." href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06251-w#ref-CR8">8</a></sup>, photonic integrated circuits are still considered inferior solutions despite their advantages in size, weight, power consumption and cost. Such high-precision and highly coherent applications favour ultralow-noise laser sources to be integrated with other photonic components in a compact and robustly aligned format—that is, on a single chip—for photonic integrated circuits to replace bulk optics and fibres. There are two major issues preventing the realization of such envisioned photonic integrated circuits: the high phase noise of semiconductor lasers and the difficulty of integrating optical isolators directly on-chip. Here we challenge this convention by leveraging three-dimensional integration that results in ultralow-noise lasers with isolator-free operation for silicon photonics. Through multiple monolithic and heterogeneous processing sequences, direct on-chip integration of III–V gain medium and ultralow-loss silicon nitride waveguides with optical loss around 0.5 decibels per metre are demonstrated. Consequently, the demonstrated photonic integrated circuit enters a regime that gives rise to ultralow-noise lasers and microwave synthesizers without the need for optical isolators, owing to the ultrahigh-quality-factor cavity. Such photonic integrated circuits also offer superior scalability for complex functionalities and volume production, as well as improved stability and reliability over time. The three-dimensional integration on ultralow-loss photonic integrated circuits thus marks a critical step towards complex systems and networks on silicon.</p>-
dc.languageeng-
dc.publisherNature Research-
dc.relation.ispartofNature-
dc.rightsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.-
dc.title3D integration enables ultralow-noise isolator-free lasers in silicon photonics-
dc.typeArticle-
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version-
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41586-023-06251-w-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-85166428004-
dc.identifier.volume620-
dc.identifier.issue7972-
dc.identifier.spage78-
dc.identifier.epage85-
dc.identifier.eissn1476-4687-
dc.identifier.isiWOS:001042130400011-
dc.identifier.issnl0028-0836-

Export via OAI-PMH Interface in XML Formats


OR


Export to Other Non-XML Formats