CN116544780A - High-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on silicon nitride external cavity - Google Patents

High-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on silicon nitride external cavity Download PDF

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Publication number
CN116544780A
CN116544780A CN202310590437.4A CN202310590437A CN116544780A CN 116544780 A CN116544780 A CN 116544780A CN 202310590437 A CN202310590437 A CN 202310590437A CN 116544780 A CN116544780 A CN 116544780A
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China
Prior art keywords
micro
ring
laser
waveguide
silicon nitride
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CN202310590437.4A
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Inventor
王文亭
田震
曹悦
金亚
班德超
祝宁华
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Xiong'an Innovation Research Institute
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Xiong'an Innovation Research Institute
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    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01SDEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/1071Ring-lasers
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01SDEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/1042Optical microcavities, e.g. cavity dimensions comparable to the wavelength
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01SDEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/18Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities
    • H01S5/183Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
    • H01S5/18358Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] containing spacer layers to adjust the phase of the light wave in the cavity

Abstract

The invention provides a high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on a silicon nitride external cavity. The structure of the laser comprises a laser gain chip, a mode spot converter, a micro-ring resonator, a phase converter, a micro-ring phase modulator, an MZI coupler, an MZI transmission arm and a tunable loop reflector. The gain chip of the laser generates optical signals and transmits the optical signals to the micro-ring resonator through the mode spot converter and the phase converter, the micro-ring resonator outputs light meeting specific interference conditions from the micro-ring waveguide, the micro-ring phase modulator adjusts the optical phase and selects the mode of the micro-ring, and the light is converged through the MZI coupler and the MZI transmission arm. The invention adopts a three-micro-ring structure, solves the problems of limited tuning range, low integration level, large waveguide loss and the like of the traditional laser, combines the design of a mode spot converter, realizes the mixed integration of III-V materials and inorganic materials, improves the optical coupling efficiency, and provides a thought for the design of a tunable semiconductor laser.

Description

High-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on silicon nitride external cavity
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of lasers, in particular to a high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on a silicon nitride external cavity.
Background
With the rapid increase in network capacity demand, the development of optical communications is widely focused by researchers. The development of high performance semiconductor lasers is particularly important in order to expand the capacity of long distance, subway and short distance optical links.
Conventional single-chip semiconductor lasers generally employ a thermal tuning manner based on a thermo-optical effect or an electrical tuning manner based on a carrier dispersion effect, so that the tuning range of the laser is limited (several nanometers). However, in the information age, the high-speed development of the fields of coherent optical communication, vehicle-mounted laser radar and the like has put higher demands on the wide tuning range characteristics of laser light sources. As a result, single chip lasers have failed to meet the increasing communications demands. And semiconductor external cavity lasers can effectively solve this problem. On the basis of a semiconductor laser gain chip, the resonant cavity is extended out of the laser chip by using elements such as an external mode selection element, a reflecting mirror and the like. The tuning range of the laser can be greatly improved, and the method has wide application in the fields of wavelength division multiplexing, optical communication, radar and the like.
External cavity lasers can be divided into three main categories: discrete device type, fiber bragg grating type, and waveguide type. The waveguide type external cavity laser has the advantages of low cost, high system integration level, low power consumption, small size and the like. Based on the above discussion, the present invention proposes a tunable waveguide type external cavity laser based on silicon nitride material. The refractive index of the silicon nitride material is moderate, compared with the silicon material waveguide, the size of the silicon nitride material waveguide is relatively larger, so that scattering loss caused by rough side walls in the preparation process is reduced, and the silicon nitride waveguide with extremely low transmission loss can be realized. Silicon nitride materials are compatible with COMS materials, with little free carrier absorption in the communication wavelength range, and can withstand higher pump light powers than SOI waveguides. In addition, the thermo-optic coefficient of the silicon nitride material is about 5 times smaller than that of the silicon material, and the silicon nitride waveguide is insensitive to temperature, so that the stability of the device is improved. Therefore, the silicon nitride micro-ring external cavity laser with high integration level and balanced performance has wide application prospect, and the coupling efficiency of the gain chip and the silicon nitride waveguide is improved by optimizing the structure of the silicon nitride optical waveguide, so that the overall performance of the laser can be further improved.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on a silicon nitride external cavity, which solves the problems of limited tuning range, low integration level, high waveguide loss and the like of the traditional laser.
The invention is realized in the following way: a high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on a silicon nitride external cavity comprises a tunable loop reflector, a laser gain chip, a spot-size converter, three micro-ring resonators, a phase converter, three micro-ring phase modulators, an MZI coupler and an MZI transmission arm which are integrated on the same substrate; the tunable loop reflector is used for providing optical feedback and optimizing the reflectivity and output power in the laser cavity; the tunable loop reflector is connected with a laser gain chip, and the laser gain chip is used for generating optical signals and amplifying signal power; the optical signal generated by the laser gain chip is sequentially transmitted into the micro-ring resonator through a mode spot converter and a phase converter, wherein the mode spot converter is used for coupling and matching the end surfaces of the gain waveguide and the inorganic waveguide, and the phase converter is used for tuning the transmission mode of the laser signal; the micro-ring resonator is used for outputting light waves meeting specific interference conditions from the micro-ring waveguide and selecting a laser mode; the three micro-ring resonators are cascaded in sequence; the three micro-ring phase modulators are correspondingly arranged on the three micro-ring resonators and are used for adjusting the optical phase and selecting the mode in the micro-ring of the micro-ring resonators; the number of the MZI couplers is two, one MZI coupler is connected with the micro-ring resonator, and light transmitted by the micro-ring resonator is split into two paths after being coupled by the MZI coupler and is converged by the other MZI coupler after being transmitted by the MZI transmission arm.
Preferably, the laser gain chip is a multi-quantum hydrazine reflective optical amplifier.
The gain chip of the laser amplifies photons generated by spontaneous radiation by utilizing the gain characteristic of the active material of the gain chip of the laser, thereby realizing light output; the laser gain chip adopts a buried heterojunction structure; the gain chip material structure of the laser adopts InP (substrate)/InGaAsP (quantum well active material); the laser gain chip structure comprises a high reflection film and a high transmission film, and laser signals are emitted from the high transmission film.
Preferably, the micro-ring resonator adopts silicon nitride as an optical waveguide core layer material; the micro-ring resonator is of a straight-through structure and comprises a strip waveguide and an annular waveguide positioned on one side of the strip waveguide.
Preferably, the spot-size converter has an inverted cone structure; the die spot converter is made of silicon nitride material, indium phosphide material or lithium niobate material. The mode spot conversion structure is used for connecting the gain waveguide and the inorganic waveguide; the mode spot conversion structure can improve the optical coupling efficiency by changing the light spot size.
Preferably, the substrate material is a silicon material or a lithium niobate material.
The high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on the silicon nitride outer cavity provided by the invention can be compatible with a COMS process and is simple in preparation process. In addition, the invention combines the design of the spot-size converter, realizes the mixed integration of III-V material and inorganic material, and improves the optical coupling efficiency.
The invention has the following beneficial effects:
1. the invention provides a wide-tuning high-quality laser generating device, which solves the problem that a single chip cannot meet the increasing communication capacity. The function of protecting the channel layer which can automatically implement protection and recovery switching in the DWDM optical transmission system can be realized. The whole equipment has simpler structure and can realize automatic operation control.
2. The micro-ring resonator is adopted as a structure of the optical device, and has the advantages of simple structure, small size, high integration level and the like. Compared with an organic polymer material, the silicon nitride material has the advantages of large refractive index difference of a core cladding, small device size, high integration level, high performance stability and the like, and compared with insulating silicon, the silicon nitride waveguide has the advantages of simple preparation, lower process cost and the like.
3. The mode spot converter solves the problem of large mode mismatch in the gain waveguide and the inorganic waveguide, effectively improves the optical coupling efficiency between different waveguides, and reduces the coupling loss between chips. The device adopts a three-micro-ring structure, and compared with the traditional double-micro-ring structure, the device solves the problem of waveguide loss increase caused by small micro-ring size. The three micro-ring structure increases the effective cavity length of the laser, improves the power density in the micro-cavity, and realizes the ultra-wide tuning range.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a three micro-ring wide tuning laser with silicon nitride according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a spot-size converter.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a silicon nitride micro-ring resonator and a simulated light intensity distribution.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the test spectra of an embodiment of a silicon nitride tri-micro-ring wide tuning laser according to the present invention.
Wherein: 1. a tunable loop reflector; 2. a laser gain chip; 3. a spot-size converter; 4. a first microring resonator; 5. a second microring resonator; 6. a third microring resonator; 7. a phase converter; 8. a first micro-ring phase modulator; 9. a second micro-ring phase modulator; 10. a third micro-ring phase modulator; 11. MZI first coupler; 12. MZI transmission arm; 13. MZI second coupler.
Detailed Description
As shown in fig. 1, the high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on the silicon nitride external cavity provided by the invention comprises a tunable loop reflector 1, a laser gain chip 2, a spot-size converter 3, a first micro-ring resonator 4, a second micro-ring resonator 5, a third micro-ring resonator 6, a phase converter 7, a first micro-ring phase modulator 8, a second micro-ring phase modulator 9, a third micro-ring phase modulator 10, a first MZI (mach-zehnder interferometer) coupler 11, a transmission arm 12 and a second MZI coupler 13. The laser gain chip 2, the spot-size converter 3, the three micro-ring resonators, the phase converter 7, the three micro-ring phase modulators, the two MZI couplers, the MZI transmission arm 12 and the tunable loop reflector 1 are mixed and integrated on the same substrate. The substrate material is a silicon material or a lithium niobate material.
The left end of the laser gain chip 2 is provided with a tunable loop reflector 1, which provides the required optical feedback, and is a device which is easy to integrate on an integrated platform, so that the reflectivity and the output power of a laser cavity can be optimized relatively easily.
The laser gain chip 2 amplifies photons generated by spontaneous radiation by utilizing the gain characteristic of the active material of the laser gain chip, so that light output is realized; the active material of the laser gain chip 2 is a quantum well structure, and the gain comes from photons generated by electron transition between discrete conduction band energy levels and discrete valence band energy levels in the well; the laser gain chip 2 adopts a buried heterojunction structure; the material structure of the laser gain chip 2 adopts InP (substrate)/InGaAsP (quantum well active material); the laser gain chip structure comprises a high reflection film and a high transmission film, and laser signals are emitted from the high transmission film.
The laser gain chip 2 is a multi-quantum hydrazine reflection type optical amplifier and is used for generating optical signals and amplifying signal power, and has the advantages of high power, good frequency stability and the like, and meanwhile, the laser gain chip is small in size, low in power consumption and easy to integrate; the optical signal generated by the optical signal is coupled into the inorganic waveguide through the mode spot-size converter 3 at an oblique angle.
The mode spot converter 3 is a specially designed waveguide structure for coupling and matching the end surfaces of the gain waveguide and the inorganic waveguide, gradually coupling the optical signal into the inorganic waveguide, and improving the optical coupling efficiency by changing the spot size. The spot-size converter 3 has an inverted cone structure, and a schematic structure is shown in fig. 2.
The phase converter 7 is placed after the spot-size converter 3 in order to achieve adjustment of the longitudinal mode of the laser. In order to control the mode-tuning phenomenon, a phase converter is arranged behind the reflector in order to fine tune the longitudinal mode of the laser cavity. By increasing the bias voltage applied to the phase converter electrode, the temperature of the phase converter is changed and the laser longitudinal mode is red shifted and aligned with the peak of the reflector spectrum. By varying the temperature of the phase converter 7, the transmission mode of the laser signal in the system is controlled.
The three micro-ring resonators in the invention are waveguides with high nonlinearity, high Q value and low threshold power, the micro-ring resonators adopt silicon nitride as the material of the optical waveguide core layer, and the structure of the micro-ring resonators comprises a linear waveguide (short for straight waveguide) crossing the upper surface of the substrate layer and a micro-ring waveguide (short for micro-ring waveguide or annular waveguide) at one side of the linear waveguide. The use of a high Q micro-ring resonator increases the effective cavity length of the laser and also increases the power density of the micro-ring resonator. This is particularly important in devices based on silicon photonics casting using silicon waveguides because there is two-photon absorption and associated free carrier absorption in the waveguide, which effects further increase the loss of the microring resonator. Three or more microring resonators of appropriate circumference are utilized to reduce absorption losses of the microring resonators.
The micro-ring resonant cavity is made of silicon nitride, and adopts a straight-through structure, and comprises a silicon nitride straight waveguide crossing the upper surface of a thin film silicon substrate and a silicon nitride micro-ring waveguide positioned on one side of the straight waveguide. The schematic structure of the silicon nitride micro-ring resonator and the simulated light intensity distribution diagram during operation are shown in fig. 3.
Each micro-ring resonator is provided with a micro-ring phase modulator which is used for phase adjustment and mode selection of an optical field in the waveguide.
The laser signal is input from the left end of the straight waveguide of the first micro-ring resonator 4, the optical signal entering from the straight waveguide enters the micro-ring waveguide through coupling, and the light wave meeting the specific interference condition can be output from the micro-ring waveguide for the selection of the laser mode; the first micro-ring phase modulator 8 is used for tuning and mode selection of the optical phase in the micro-ring of the first micro-ring resonator.
The second micro-ring resonator 5 is cascaded with the first micro-ring resonator 4, light is input from the right end of a straight waveguide of the second micro-ring resonator 5, and light waves meeting specific interference conditions are output from the micro-ring waveguide through a coupler formed by the straight waveguide and the micro-ring; the second micro-ring phase modulator 9 is used for tuning and mode selection of the optical phase in the micro-ring in the second micro-ring resonator 5.
The third micro-ring resonator 6 is cascaded with the second micro-ring resonator 5, and the optical second micro-ring resonator 5 is input from the left end of the straight waveguide and passes through a device formed by the straight waveguide and the micro-ring waveguide; the third micro-ring phase modulator 10 is used for tuning and mode selection of the optical phase in the micro-ring in the third micro-ring resonator 6.
Of the three micro-ring resonators, the radius of two micro-rings in the first micro-ring resonator and the second micro-ring resonator is almost the same, and the radius of the micro-ring in the third micro-ring resonator is ten times or more than that of the first two. For example, in one particular embodiment, the first two microrings have radii of 92 microns and 95 microns, respectively, and the third microring has a radius of 1465 microns. The third micro-ring performs accurate filtering on the optical signals passing through the first two micro-rings to provide a fine frequency spectrum, then the cavity length of the whole external cavity laser can be increased, the cavity length is calculated by doubling the optical length of the three micro-ring resonators, which is equivalent to multiplying each length by nine round trips, and the photon service life in the cavity can be increased by using the cavity length, so that the loss in the cavity is reduced, and the line width of the optical signals is optimized.
After the optical path passes through the micro-ring resonator, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer coupler is adopted, and the reflectivity can be adjusted by controlling the phase difference of the MZI arms.
The MZI first coupler 11 is used for coupling an optical field transmitted by the micro-ring, dividing the light into two paths, and transmitting the light in two waveguide transmission arms respectively; the MZI transmission arms 12 are used to transmit optical fields coupled into the transmission arms, respectively; the MZI second coupler 13 is used to couple the optical field in the transmission arm, achieving the junction of the optical paths.
The test spectrum of the high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on the silicon nitride external cavity provided by the invention is shown in figure 4. As can be seen from the figure, the wavelength tunable coverage of the laser can reach 36nm, and has extremely narrow linewidth.

Claims (5)

1. A high-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on a silicon nitride external cavity is characterized by comprising a tunable loop reflector, a laser gain chip, a mode spot converter, three micro-ring resonators, a phase converter, three micro-ring phase modulators, an MZI coupler and an MZI transmission arm which are integrated on the same substrate; the tunable loop reflector is used for providing optical feedback, and is connected with the laser gain chip, and the laser gain chip is used for generating optical signals and amplifying signal power; the optical signal generated by the laser gain chip is sequentially transmitted into the micro-ring resonator through a mode spot converter and a phase converter, wherein the mode spot converter is used for coupling and matching the end surfaces of the gain waveguide and the inorganic waveguide, and the phase converter is used for tuning the transmission mode of the laser signal; the three micro-ring resonators are sequentially cascaded, and the three micro-ring phase modulators are correspondingly arranged on the three micro-ring resonators and are used for adjusting the optical phase and selecting the mode in the waveguide; the MZI coupler is connected with the micro-ring resonator, and light transmitted by the micro-ring resonator is split into two paths after being coupled by the MZI coupler and is converged by one MZI coupler after being transmitted by the MZI transmission arm.
2. The silicon nitride external cavity based high performance tunable semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein the laser gain chip is a multiple quantum hydrazine reflective optical amplifier.
3. The silicon nitride external cavity based high performance tunable semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein the micro-ring resonator uses silicon nitride as an optical waveguide core material; the micro-ring resonator is of a straight-through structure and comprises a strip waveguide and an annular waveguide positioned on one side of the strip waveguide.
4. The silicon nitride external cavity based high performance tunable semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein the spot-size converter is of an inverted cone structure; the die spot converter is made of silicon nitride material, indium phosphide material or lithium niobate material.
5. The silicon nitride external cavity based high performance tunable semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein the substrate material is a silicon material or a lithium niobate material.
CN202310590437.4A 2023-05-24 2023-05-24 High-performance tunable semiconductor laser based on silicon nitride external cavity Pending CN116544780A (en)

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN117096722A (en) * 2023-09-08 2023-11-21 之江实验室 Hybrid integrated narrow linewidth laser

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN117096722A (en) * 2023-09-08 2023-11-21 之江实验室 Hybrid integrated narrow linewidth laser

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