Nanowire lasers integrated into silicon-on-insulator photonic circuits

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This proposal aims to capitalize on recent advances made by the applicants to site-selectively integrate III-V semiconductor nanoscale lasers onto silicon based nanophotonic circuits and explore their coupling to the photonic environment and each other. We will focus on band-gap tunable (In)GaAs-(In)AlAs based nanowires emitting in the near-infrared (~1.2-1.55 µm) and tailor the optical gain and carrier dynamics by exploiting quantum confined heterostructures, strain and doping within the nanowire. Factors influencing the gain and carrier dynamics of the nanowire lasers such as the time-/frequency dependent carrier relaxation, gain recovery, turn-on time, etc. and non-radiative Auger recombination will be explored using ultrafast pump-probe optical spectroscopy and temperature-dependent measurements of the threshold characteristics, in combination with modelling. By integrating multiple nanowire lasers onto prototype silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic circuits we will further investigate the optical coupling of the lasers to the underlying circuit and their environment. Ultimately, we will develop routes towards self-injection locking, explore interaction phenomena between individual nanowire lasers and open the way to optical switching in prototype integrated photonic circuits in the telecoms bands.