Monolithic Ⅲ–Ⅴ membrane photonic crystal lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy

Cong Zeng; Zhaojie Ren; Zili Lei; Donghui Fu; Yingzhi Zhao; Ying Yu; Yu Han; Siyuan Yu

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02074-8

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Monolithic Ⅲ–Ⅴ membrane photonic crystal lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy

Original Articles

- Monolithic Ⅲ–Ⅴ membrane photonic crystal lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 4, Pages: 1116-1124(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Author bio：
  
  Yu Han (hany87@mail.sysu.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02074-8
  CLC：
- Received：18 March 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-09-17，
  
  Accepted：26 September 2025，
  
  Online First：30 January 2026，
  
  Published：30 April 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Zeng, C. et al. Monolithic Ⅲ–Ⅴ membrane photonic crystal lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 1116-1124 (2026).
DOI：

Zeng, C. et al. Monolithic Ⅲ–Ⅴ membrane photonic crystal lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 1116-1124 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02074-8.

摘要

Abstract

Ⅲ–Ⅴ photonic crystal (PhC) lasers with small footprints and low power consumption are potential ultra-compact and power-efficient light sources for future on-chip optical interconnects. Conventional PhC lasers fabricated by vertical epitaxy require suspended air-bridge structures and air holes etched through the gain medium

severely compromising mechanical resistance to external impacts and pumping efficiency. While bonding and regrowth can mitigate these issues

their fabrication complexity substantially increases process costs and hinders mass production. Here

we address these issues using selective lateral heteroepitaxy and demonstrate monolithically integrated Ⅲ–Ⅴ membrane PhC lasers on (001) silicon-on-insulator (SOI). By leveraging selective lateral heteroepitaxy and

metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)

we achieved the growth of dislocation-free InP membranes on SOI wafers patterned in Si-photonics foundries. The unique Ⅲ-Ⅴ-on-insulator avoids the formation of air-suspended structures and significantly enhances the mechanical stability of the devices. We also precisely positioned the laterally grown InGaAs/InP quantum wells (QWs) at the center of the InP membrane to avoid etching air holes through the gain medium

thus eliminating surface recombination and drastically improving pumping efficiency. We fabricated near-infrared and telecom PhC lasers using laterally grown Ⅲ–Ⅴ membranes

and achieved room-temperature lasing at 910 nm and 1430 nm with low thresholds of 17.5 μJ/cm

and 5.7 μJ/cm

respectively. Our results establish a novel approach for fabricating PhC lasers and provide an elegant solution for monolithically integrated PhC lasers in next-generation optical interconnects.

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references

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