Tunable laser with integrated wavelength reference

Abstract

In the prior art, tunable lasers utilizing silicon-based tunable ring filters and III-V semiconductor-based gain regions required the heterogeneous integration of independently formed silicon and III-V semiconductor based optical elements, resulting in large optical devices requiring a complex manufacturing process (e.g., airtight packaging to couple the devices formed on different substrates, precise alignment for the elements, etc.). Embodiments of the invention eliminate the need for bulk optical elements and hermetic packaging, via the use of hybridized III-V/silicon gain regions and silicon optical components, such as silicon wavelength filters and silicon wavelength references, thereby reducing the size and manufacturing complexity of tunable lasing devices. For example, embodiments of the invention may utilize hybridized III-V/silicon gain regions with ring filters on silicon form a tunable laser with efficient gain from the III-V region, while providing wide tunability, efficient tunability, and narrow linewidth due to the nature of the silicon rings.