Integration of optical amplifiers and passive waveguide devices on InP using selective area chemical beam epitaxy

Abstract

High quality butt joints were fabricated in the InGaAsP system using a Selective Area Chemical Beam Epitaxy (SA-CBE) regrowth step. Coupling losses were as low as 0.1 dB/interface for butt joints between similar transparent layer stacks. Active and passive regions were defined on a single chip using SA-CBE. Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) and transparent waveguides were fabricated in their appropriate regions. Extended cavity lasers, consisting of SOAs with passive waveguides on both sides, showed stable CW laser operation at a wavelength of 1.56 /spl mu/m. SA-CBE offers maximum design flexibility, since each device can be fabricated in its own optimized layer stack.