Dr. Michael Kaniber
Technische Universität München
Walter Schottky Institut

Prof. Dr. Jonathan Finley
Technische Universität München
Walter Schottky Institut

Prof. Dr. Constance Chang-Hasnain
University of California, Berkeley
EECS - Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

In this joint project, we study novel semiconductor nanolasers which can be deterministically grown on technologically relevant silicon substrates. Here, we combine the complimentary expertise of the participating groups in order to explore the monolithic integration of such nanolasers onto lithographically defined photonic building blocks, such as waveguides, splitters, ring resonators or interferometers. Our systems are based on the mature III-V-compound semiconductor family In(Ga,Al)As, known for its superior thermal, electrical and optical properties. In general, the direct monolithic growth of III-V semiconductors on silicon is complicated due to the large lattice constant mismatch of 4%, however, the minimum footprint of standing semiconductor nanowires and –pillars reduces the built-up of strain considerably and, thus, enables their formation on silicon substrates in a defect-free fashion. Silicon and, in particular silicon-on-insulator substrates form the basis for a broad range of nanophotonic devices such as modulators and detectors. We envision that this project sheds new light on the integration of optically active III-V nanolasers on silicon-based photonic hardware and provides long sought-after high-quality, monolithically integrated and CMOS-compatible on-chip coherent sources.