Single-Frequency, Narrow-Linewidth Distributed

Feedback Waveguide Laser in Al2O3:Er3+ on Silicon

E. H. Bernhardi, H. A. G. M van Wolferen, L. Agazzi, M. R. H. Khan,

C. G. H. Roeloffzen, K. Wörhoff, M. Pollnau and R. M de Ridder
MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente,
Enschede, The Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract—A distributed feedback channel waveguide laser in

erbium-doped aluminum oxide on a silicon substrate is II. FABRICATION
reported. The optically pumped laser has a threshold pump The channel waveguides were fabricated in Al2O3:Er3+
power of 15 mW and emits 3 mW in single-frequency layers which were deposited onto standard thermally
operation at 1545.2 nm wavelength with a slope efficiency of oxidized silicon wafers [6]. The erbium doping concentration
6.2% and linewidth of 15 kHz.
has been set to ~3×1020 cm–3. The ridge waveguides were
Keywords—Distributed feedback (DFB) laser; waveguide 1 cm long, 3 µm wide and were etched 0.1 µm deep via a
laser; erbium-doped laser; Bragg gratings; aluminum oxide reactive ion etching process [7]. The waveguide geometry
was designed to support only single transverse-mode
operation at the pump and laser wavelengths. A 650-nm-
I. INTRODUCTION thick plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) in SiO2 cladding layer was deposited on top of the ridge
telecommunication networks has been one of the main waveguides.
driving forces behind the development of single-frequency
lasers operating in the telecommunication C-band (1530- Optical feedback in the cavity was provided by a 1-cm-
1565 nm). Monolithic erbium-doped dielectric distributed long surface relief Bragg grating. The grating pattern was
feedback (DFB) waveguide lasers are of particular interest defined in a 120-nm-thick negative resist layer on top of the
for this application due to their stable, single-mode, single- SiO2 by means of laser interference lithography (LIL).
polarization, extremely narrow-linewidth and low-noise Finally, the grating pattern was etched into the SiO2 layer
emission [1,2]. using a CHF3:O2 reactive ion plasma, after which the
residual resist was removed by an O2 plasma. The resultant
Erbium-doped aluminum oxide (Al2O3:Er3+) has been Bragg grating had an etch depth of ~150 nm with a period of
identified as a very promising gain medium to realize such 488 nm and a duty cycle of ~50%. In order to ensure single
integrated single-frequency waveguide lasers due to its longitudinal mode operation, a distributed quarter-wave
favorable optical properties and compatibility with existing phase shift was introduced to the cavity by means of a 2-
silicon waveguide technology. Al2O3:Er3+ waveguides with mm-long adiabatic sinusoidal tapering of the waveguide
low propagation losses and an internal optical gain over an width in the center region of the cavity [8].
80 nm wavelength range, by far exceeding the range of the
telecommunication C-band, with a peak gain of 2.0 dB/cm III. CHARACTERIZATION
have recently been realized [3]. The first Al2O3:Er3+
integrated waveguide laser was consequently demonstrated The laser was optically pumped by a 1480 nm laser diode
soon thereafter [4]. where a maximum pump power of 67 mW was launched into
the waveguide via a 1480/1550 nm wavelength division
In this work we present the first monolithic single- multiplexing (WDM) fiber. The laser emission was collected
frequency distributed feedback channel waveguide laser in from the pumped side of the cavity with the WDM fiber and
Al2O3:Er3+. Its output power is in the milliwatt range, with a sent to a power meter. The power characteristic of the laser is
low pump threshold and high slope efficiency being shown in Fig. 1. The DFB laser threshold occurs at a
achieved due to tight light confinement and small launched pump power of 15 mW. The maximum laser
propagation losses in our channel waveguides, while also emission from the pumped side of the cavity is more than
providing the additional feature of single-frequency, narrow- 3 mW, which results in a slope efficiency of 6.2% versus
linewidth operation. The laser power and spectral launched pump power. The unabsorbed pump power that
characteristics make it an excellent competitor against well- was collected at the unpumped side of the cavity indicated
established optical waveguide technologies such as erbium- that only approximately 20% of the launched pump power is
doped phosphate glass and lithium niobate channel absorbed in the cavity so that a pump power threshold of
waveguide lasers [1,2,5]. below 3 mW and slope efficiency of more than 30% are

Funding was provided by the MEMPHIS project which is part of the

Smart Mix Programme of the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs
and the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Figure 1. Laser output power laser as a function of launched pump power Figure 2. The heterodyne RF beat signal with a –3dB linewidth of 30 kHz

derived versus absorbed pump power. The low threshold is a

consequence of the strong light confinement due to the IV. CONCLUSION
comparatively high refractive index of Al2O3 of ~1.65 which A monolithic distributed-feedback waveguide laser in
allows the fabrication of compact integrated optical Al2O3:Er3+ was presented. The low-threshold laser
structures and small waveguide cross-sections. demonstrated narrow-linewidth, single-longitudinal-mode,
and single-polarization emission. A maximum output power
The laser emission from the unpumped side of the cavity
of more than 3 mW was achieved with a linewidth of
was collected with a WDM fiber and sent to an optical
<15 kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first rare-
spectrum analyzer (OSA) with a resolution of 0.1 nm. The
earth-ion-doped DFB laser that is fabricated on a silicon
laser operated at a wavelength of 1545.2 nm (TE polarized)
substrate. This result holds many promising opportunities for
and the single emission peak is more than 40 dB above the
the integration of such single-frequency lasers with existing
amplified spontaneous emission noise floor. Since
dielectric waveguide technology on silicon substrates.
characterization of the Bragg gratings showed that the Bragg
reflection of the TM mode occurs at ~1533 nm, we conclude
that the laser was operating TE-polarized at all times. REFERENCES
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