High-Temperature Operation of Photonic-Crystal Lasers for On-Chip Optical Interconnection

To meet the demand for light sources for on-chip optical interconnections, we demonstrate the continuous-wave (CW) operation of photonic-crystal (PhC) nanocavity lasers at up to 89.8◦C by using InP buried heterostructures (BH). The wavelength of a PhC laser can be precisely designed over a wide range exceeding 100 nm by controlling the lattice constant of the PhC. The dynamic responses of the PhC laser are also demonstrated with a 3-dB bandwidth of over 7.0 GHz at 66.2◦C. These results reveal the laser’s availability for application to wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical interconnection on CMOS chips. We discuss the total bandwidths of future on-chip optical interconnections, and report the capabilities of PhC lasers. key words: photonic-crystal lasers, buried heterostructures, optical interconnections