Ultra-Coherent Semiconductor Laser Technology

Spontaneous emission is a quantum mechanical process that represents the main source of phase noise in state-of-the-art semiconductor lasers, limiting their coherence, and their suitability for high-speed communication and sensing applications. This proposal aims to develop ultra-high coherence semiconductor lasers on the Silicon/III-V platform with a quantum linewidth of <5 kHz (Phase II), by tackling this root cause of phase noise in the laser. The laser is based on the novel quantum noise control paradigm where the engineering of the laser structure controls the amount of spontaneous emission injected into the lasing mode, and therefore the laser linewidth. Low-cost, wafer-scale, high-throughput techniques will be developed and employed in the fabrication of the laser. The development of this laser on a CMOS compatible silicon platform enables the integration of the laser with other passive and active optical elements and electronics; and its small form factor and low power consumption make it a scalable solution for next-generation high-speed coherent communication networks and sensing applications.