Silicon nitride (SiN)-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have the advantages of ultralow propagation loss, broad band transparency window, and CMOS-compatible fabrication process for promoting performances of optical telecom, spectroscopy, and sensing systems. However, the integration of conventional laser sources in SiN PICs is still challenged by complicated processes and low-volume manufacture. Here, we report a straightforward strategy to integrate laser sources in SiN PICs by deterministically postfabricating a SiN waveguide over a semiconductor nanowire (NW) laser, which was prelaid on a silicon oxide substrate. The laser emission from the waveguide-embedded NW was obtained, which was then coupled into the SiN single-mode waveguide and supported by the power division by an integrated beam splitter. The coupling efficiency between the NW lasing mode and the SiN waveguide mode was determined as 46.7%, which could be improved further to 83.6% by reducing the NW diameter based on numerical simulation. Benefiting from the postfabrication process, wide-band operation wavelength, and high waveguide-coupling efficiency of the NW laser, our work may provide a viable solution for large-scale integration of laser sources in SiN PICs.

中文翻译：

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将半导体纳米线激光器集成到氮化硅波导中


基于氮化硅 (SiN) 的光子集成电路 (PIC) 具有超低传播损耗、宽带透明窗口和 CMOS 兼容制造工艺等优点，可提升光通信、光谱学和传感系统的性能。然而，传统激光源在 SiN PIC 中的集成仍然面临工艺复杂和小批量制造的挑战。在这里，我们报告了一种直接的策略，通过在预先铺设在氧化硅基板上的半导体纳米线（NW）激光器上确定性地后制造 SiN 波导，将激光源集成到 SiN PIC 中。获得来自波导嵌入式纳米线的激光发射，然后将其耦合到 SiN 单模波导中，并通过集成分束器进行功率分配。数值模拟确定纳米线激光模式与氮化硅波导模式之间的耦合效率为46.7%，通过减小纳米线直径可以将耦合效率进一步提高至83.6%。受益于纳米线激光器的后制造工艺、宽带工作波长和高波导耦合效率，我们的工作可能为 SiN PIC 中激光源的大规模集成提供可行的解决方案。