1.54 μm emitter and optical amplifier based on Er doped InGaN/GaN

Er doped III-nitride semiconductors are a major field of research aiming to achieve photonic devices with multiple functionalities in photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which are not possible with either Er doped silica glasses or narrow band gap semiconductors like InGaAsP. Emitters and optical amplifiers based on Er doped GaN/InGaN operating at 1.54 μm are expected to be electrically pumped, integratable, temperature insensitive and have high signal gain with low noise. These properties are very attractive for next generation optical network systems where multiple amplification steps are required. We will discuss here the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of Er doped GaN/InGaN epilayers. Further, we report on the fabrication of chip size current injected 1.54 μm emitters and optical amplifiers by heterogeneously integrating MOCVD grown Er doped GaN/InGaN with 365 nm nitride light-emitting diodes. The emitted intensity at 1.54 μm varied almost linearly with input forward current. The feasibility of electrically pumped optical amplifiers for PICs with the advantages of both semiconductor optical amplifiers and Er-doped fiber amplifiers will also be discussed.