High-temperature reliable quantum-dot lasers on Si with misfit and threading dislocation filters

Direct epitaxial growth of III-V light sources on Si photonic chips is promising to realize low-cost and high-functionality photonic integrated circuits. Historically, high temperature reliability of such devices has been the major roadblock due to crystalline defects from heteroepitaxy. Here, by reducing the threading dislocation densities to similar to 1 x 10(6) cm(2) and efficiently removing misfit dislocations above and below the active region, 1.3 mu m InAs quantum-dot lasers directly grown on industry standard on-axis Si (001) show record-breaking reliability at 80 degrees C. The hero device shows minimum degradation after more than 1200 h of constant current stress. Statistical analysis shows an extrapolated lifetime of over 22 years for the median devices, bringing these devices one big step closer to real world applications. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

By reducing dislocation densities and efficiently removing misfit dislocations, InAs quantum-dot lasers grown directly on silicon photonic chips show high reliability at high temperatures, breaking records. Statistical analysis predicts a lifetime of over 22 years for median devices, bringing them closer to practical applications.