GOALI/EAGER: Investigation of Bulk Fabrication of 1.3um Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback Lasers for Uncooled and Analog Sources

Objective Semiconductor lasers are of great importance to modern communication because of the enormous bandwidth they provide in transmitting information over optical fibers. Quantum dot (QD) lasers (based on small clumps of material) haves significant advantages over the standard technology (which are quantum wells (QWs) based on thin layers of material), including much greater temperature-insensitivity and inherently low chip. However, QD-lasers have not been adopted into commercial laser transmitters largely because no holographically-fabricated, loss-free, single-mode QD-devices at the technologically-important wavelength ranges have yet been demonstrated. The objective is to demonstrate the fabrication of these devices with commercially-feasible techniques. Intellectual Merit Because the work will be done in direct collaboration with Ortel-Emcore (a semiconductor laser company), successful fabrication of the devices will lead immediately to investigation of their adoption into telecommunications applications. With loss-free devices, the inherent performance and fundamental limits of single-mode QD lasers can be finally evaluated. This proposed mixed-growth method for single mode lasers will be an enabling technology for the widespread adoption of QD material into the telecommunications market. Broader Impacts The many advantages of QD material suggest applications where it would be superior to quantum well lasers. This technology will drive lower-cost, high-bandwidth optical communications links. The close industrial-academic collaboration, including seminars by Ortel scientists given at Binghamton, seminars by the PI at Ortel and local industries, and on-site work by a graduate student at Ortel-Emcore, are a valuable component to this project and will be excellent experience for the students involved.