Semiconductor science and technology (S T) is a very active branch in the field of natural science, and is also a typical example embodying the development of advanced S T. The Nobel prize for physics is a prize of the highest honour in the world, and there are certain relationships between this award and semiconductor S T. We explore and analyze these inherent relationships which have practical importance for our understanding of the development of semiconductor S T and for predicting its future.

Semiconductor science and technology, and Nobel physics prizes

This paper reviews the recent progress of quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers developed as ultrawideband polarization-insensitive high-power amplifiers, high-speed signal regenerators, and wideband wavelength converters. A semiconductor optical amplifier having a gain of > 25 dB, noise figure of < 5 dB, and 3-dB saturation output power of > 20 dBm, over the record widest bandwidth of 90 nm among all kinds of optical amplifiers, and also having a penalty-free output power of 23 dBm, the record highest among all the semiconductor optical amplifiers, was realized by using quantum dots. By utilizing isotropically shaped quantum dots, the TM gain, which is absent in the standard Stranski-Krastanow QDs, has been drastically enhanced, and nearly polarization-insensitive SOAs have been realized for the first time. With an ultrafast gain response unique to quantum dots, an optical regenerator having receiver-sensitivity improving capability of 4 dB at a BER of 10-9 and operating speed of > 40 Gb/s has been successfully realized with an SOA chip. This performance achieved together with simplicity of structure suggests a potential for low-cost realization of regenerative transmission systems.

Quantum-Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

Integration of III-V lasers on Si for Si photonics

To reduce the ever-increasing energy consumption in datacenters, one of the effective approaches is to increase the ambient temperature, thus lowering the energy consumed in the cooling systems. However, this entails more stringent requirements for the reliability and durability of the optoelectronic components. Herein, we fabricate and demonstrate silicon-polymer hybrid modulators which support ultra-fast single-lane data rates up to 200 gigabits per second, and meanwhile feature excellent reliability with an exceptional signal fidelity retained at extremely-high ambient temperatures up to 110 °C and even after long-term exposure to high temperatures. This is achieved by taking advantage of the high electro-optic (EO) activities (in-device n3r33 = 1021 pm V−1), low dielectric constant, low propagation loss (α, 0.22 dB mm−1), and ultra-high glass transition temperature (Tg, 172 °C) of the developed side-chain EO polymers. The presented modulator simultaneously fulfils the requirements of bandwidth, EO efficiency, and thermal stability for EO modulators. It could provide ultra-fast and reliable interconnects for energy-hungry and harsh-environment applications such as datacentres, 5G/B5G, autonomous driving, and aviation systems, effectively addressing the energy consumption issue for the next-generation optical communication. Information and communication datacentres require a large amount of energy for their cooling systems, which could be decreased by working at higher temperatures. Here, the authors introduce a silicon-polymer hybrid modulator that maintains high data rates for long periods at high temperatures that could be used under such conditions, to reduce energy consumption.

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High-temperature-resistant silicon-polymer hybrid modulator operating at up to 200 Gbit s-1 for energy-efficient datacentres and harsh-environment applications.

Perspectives on Advances in Quantum Dot Lasers and Integration with Si Photonic Integrated Circuits

We report static and dynamic properties of 1550 nm quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers operating at 25–100°C. Amplification of a single and two 28 Gbit/s channels separated by 2 nm were demonstrated over the entire temperature range.

High Performance 1550 nm Quantum Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers Operating at 25–100 °C

Electrical characteristics: I-V and C-V of InAs/InP quantum-dot lasers are analyzed and yield important parameters. The origin of the nonlinear I-V curve, the dot density and the number of carriers per dot are examples of what parameters can be extracted.

On the Relationship Between Electrical and Electro-Optical Characteristics in 1.55 μm Quantum Dot Lasers

Bei einem Verfahren zum Herstellen eines aktiven Materials (1) fur einen Laser, welches Quantenpunkte aufweist, deren Emissionsspektrum bei einer Betriebstemperatur des Lasers ein Maximum bei einer Wellenlange im Bereich von 1,1 μm bis 2 μm und insbesondere im Bereich von 1,3 bis 1,6 μm aufweist, wird auf einem Substrat (2) eine gitterangepasste Grenzschicht (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) aufgewachsen. Auf die Grenzschicht (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) wird eine aktive Schicht (6) aufgewachsen, die die Quantenpunkte umfasst. Auf die aktive Schicht (6) wird eine weitere Grenzschicht (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) aufgewachsen. Anschliesend konnen weitere aktive Schichten (6) und Grenzschichten (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) aufgewachsen werden, bis das aktive Material (1) eine vorgegebene Zahl von durch Grenzschichten (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) getrennten aktiven Schichten (6) aufweist. Die Wachstumsparameter fur das Aufwachsen der aktiven Schicht (6) und/oder der Grenzschicht (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) werden derart eingestellt, dass eine Streuung der Erstreckung der Quantenpunkte in einer Richtung quer zu dem Substrat (2) minimiert und insbesondere kleiner als 2 nm ist, und dass gleichzeitig eine Dichte der Quantenpunkte innerhalb der aktiven Schicht (6) maximiert und insbesondere groser als 2 × 10 10 cm –2 ist

A method of manufacturing a quantum dot laser material and quantum dot laser

We report temperature insensitive high speed InAs/InP quantum dot lasers. At 14°C-60°C, the bandwidth is respectively 15–13GHz, at 8°C it is 8GHz. 25Gbit/s under constant drive parameters at 14–60°C and 32Gbit/s at 14°C were demonstrated.

S. Banyoudeh

Papers

High Performance 1550 nm Quantum Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers Operating at 25–100 °C

On the Relationship Between Electrical and Electro-Optical Characteristics in 1.55 μm Quantum Dot Lasers

A method of manufacturing a quantum dot laser material and quantum dot laser

High-speed InP-based quantum dot lasers with low temperature sensitivity