Metamorphic III V semiconductor lasers grown on silicon
The epitaxial integration of III V optoelectronic devices on silicon will be the enabling technology for full scale deployment of silicon photonics and the key to improving communication systems. Silicon photonics also offer new opportunities for the realization of ultracompact and fully integrated sensing systems operating in the mid infrared (MIR) regime of the spectrum. In this article, we review recent developments, through several approaches, in the direct metamorphic epitaxial growth of various III V materials based lasers on silicon substrates. We show that GaAs based 1.3 mm III V quantum dot lasers and GaSb based MIR quantum well lasers grown on silicon substrates can operate with low threshold current density and high operating temperature, which hold promise for the future.