Laser on silicon made with 2D material gain medium

• US 9,871,341 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2016
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Ning, Sadana, Devendra K., Yang, Jinghui
• Primary Examiner(s): CARTER, MICHAEL W
• Application Number:
  US15/156,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20170338621A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02485 Other chalcogenide semiconducting materials not being oxides, e.g. ternary compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02488 Insulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02507 Alternating layers, e.g. superlattice
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02568 Chalcogenide semiconducting materials not being oxides, e.g. ternary compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/021 Silicon based substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/026 Monolithically integrated components, e.g. waveguides, monitoring photo-detectors, drivers stabilisation of output H01S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/041 Optical pumping
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1032 Coupling to elements comprising an optical axis that is not aligned with the optical axis of the active region
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1046 Comprising interactions between photons and plasmons, e.g. by a corrugated surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1071 Ring-lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/34 comprising quantum well or superlattice structures, e.g. single quantum well [SQW] lasers, multiple quantum well [MQW] lasers or graded index separate confinement heterostructure [GRINSCH] lasers H01S5/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/3401 having no PN junction, e.g. unipolar lasers, intersubband lasers, quantum cascade lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/3407 characterised by special barrier layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/341 Structures having reduced dimensionality, e.g. quantum wires

Abstract

A laser structure includes a substrate and a first dielectric layer formed on the substrate. A multi-quantum well is formed on the first dielectric layer and has a plurality of alternating layers. The alternating layers include a dielectric layer having a sub-wavelength thickness and a monolayer of a two dimensional material.

Claims

1. A laser structure, comprising:

a monocrystalline substrate;

a first dielectric layer formed on the substrate;

a light emitting diode (LED) formed on the first dielectric layer wherein the LED acts as an optical pump;

a multi-quantum well formed on the first dielectric layer having a plurality of alternating layers, the alternating layers including;

a dielectric layer having a sub-wavelength thickness; and

a monolayer of a two dimensional material.

2. The laser structure as cited in claim 1, wherein the two dimensional material includes a MX₂ wherein M is selected from the group consisting of W and Mo and X is a nonmetal.

3. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the two dimensional material includes a MX₂ wherein X is selected from the group consisting of Se, Te and S and M is a metal.

4. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the substrate includes Si and the LED includes a III-V material.

5. The laser structure as recited in claim 4, further comprising, a monocrystalline buffer layer formed between the Si substrate and the III-V material of the LED.

6. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, further comprising, a metal contact formed on the multi-quantum well to form a plasmonic laser.

7. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, further comprising, an in-plane dielectric waveguide configured to couple light from the multi-quantum well.

8. A laser structure, comprising:

a silicon substrate;

a buffer layer formed on the silicon substrate;

a light emitting diode (LED) formed on the buffer layer;

a first dielectric layer formed on the LED; and

a multi-quantum formed on the first dielectric layer and having a plurality of alternating layers, the alternating layers including;

a dielectric layer having a sub-wavelength thickness; and

a monolayer of a two dimensional material.

9. The laser structure as recited in claim 8, wherein the two dimensional material includes MX₂ wherein M is selected from the group consisting of W and Mo and X is a nonmetal.

10. The laser structure as recited in claim 8, wherein the two dimensional material includes MX₂ wherein X is selected from the group consisting of Se, Te and S and M is a metal.

11. The laser structure as recited in claim 8, wherein the LED includes a III-V material.

12. The laser structure as recited in claim 11, further comprising, a monocrystalline buffer layer formed between the Si substrate and the III-V material of the LED.

13. The laser structure as recited in claim 8, further comprising, a metal contact formed on the multi-quantum well to form a plasmonic laser.

14. The laser structure as recited in claim 8, further comprising, an in-plane dielectric waveguide configured to couple light from the multi-quantum well.

15. A method for forming a laser structure, comprising:

forming a buffer layer on a silicon substrate;

forming a light emitting diode (LED) on the buffer layer from III-V materials;

forming a dielectric layer on the LED;

stretching a monolayer of a two dimensional material on the dielectric layer;

forming a next dielectric layer on the monolayer of the two dimensional material; and

repeating formation of alternating monolayers of the two dimensional material and the dielectric layers to form a multi-quantum well laser.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising, forming a dielectric waveguide adjacent to the multi-quantum well laser on the substrate to guide light from the multi-quantum well laser.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein stretching the monolayer of a two dimensional material includes transferring the monolayer from another substrate.

18. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the two dimensional material includes a MX₂ wherein M is selected from the group consisting of W and Mo and X is a nonmetal selected from the group consisting of Se, Te and S.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising forming a metal contact on the multi-quantum well laser to form a plasmonic laser.

20. A laser structure, comprising:

a substrate;

a first dielectric layer formed on the substrate;

a multi-quantum formed on the first dielectric layer having a plurality of alternating layers, the alternating layers including;

a dielectric layer having a sub-wavelength thickness; and

a monolayer of a two dimensional material; and

a metal contact formed on the multi-quantum well to form a plasmonic laser.