CMOS-Compatible Optical Phased Array Powered by a Monolithically-Integrated Erbium Laser

An advanced CMOS-compatible 300-
$\text{mm}$
-wafer silicon-photonics platform is introduced that consists of a silicon layer with eight doping masks, two silicon-nitride layers, three metal and via layers, a dicing trench for smooth edge-coupled facets, and a gain-film trench that enables interaction between the gain material and waveguide layers. The platform was used to demonstrate an electrically-steerable integrated optical phased array powered by an on-chip erbium-doped laser. Lasing with a single-mode output,
$30\,\text{dB}$
side-mode-suppression ratio, and
$\text{40 mW}$
lasing threshold was shown, and one-dimensional beam steering with a
$\text{0.85}^\circ \times \text{0.20}^\circ$
full-width at half-maximum and
$\text{30}^\circ /\text{W}$
electrical steering efficiency was demonstrated. This system represents the first demonstration of a rare-earth-doped laser monolithically-integrated with an active CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator photonics system.