On-chip hybrid erbium-doped tellurium oxide–silicon nitride distributed Bragg reflector lasers

• Published in: Applied physics. B, Lasers and optics Vol. 129; no. 10
• Main Authors: Segat Frare, Bruno L., Torab Ahmadi, Pooya, Hashemi, Batoul, Bonneville, Dawson B., Mbonde, Hamidu M., Frankis, Henry C., Knights, Andrew P., Mascher, Peter, Bradley, Jonathan D. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applied physics; Bragg reflectors; C band; DBR lasers; Engineering; Erbium; Lasers; Light sources; Optical Devices; Optics; Passive components; Photonics; Physical Chemistry; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Optics; Silicon nitride; Skewed distributions; Tellurium; Tellurium dioxide; Waveguide lasers
• ISSN: 0946-2171; 1432-0649
• DOI: 10.1007/s00340-023-08099-4

We demonstrate integrated on-chip erbium-doped tellurite (TeO 2 :Er 3+ ) waveguide lasers fabricated on a wafer-scale silicon nitride platform. A 0.352-µm-thick TeO 2 :Er 3+ coating was deposited as an active medium on 0.2-µm-thick, 1.2- and 1.6-µm-wide, and 22-mm-long silicon nitride waveguides with sidewall-patterned asymmetrical distributed Bragg reflector cavities. The lasers yield efficiencies between 0.06 and 0.36%, lasing threshold ranging from 13 to 26 mW, and emission within the C-band (1530–1565 nm). These results establish new opportunities for this hybrid tellurite glass–silicon nitride platform, such as the co-integration of passive components and light sources in the telecom window, and provide the foundation for the development of efficient, compact, and high-output-power on-chip erbium-doped tellurite waveguide lasers.