Enabling III–V integrated photonics with Er-doped Al2O3 films

We describe the integration of erbium-doped Al₂O₃ material with InGaAs/GaAs quantum well lasers emitting at 980 nm, demonstrating the possibility of integrating III-V based pumping lasers and materials suitable for optical amplification and planar photonics. Combining Er-doped materials with III-V compounds is challenging since ion activation usually requires high temperature annealing. In order to demonstrate the compatibility of the two material systems we fabricated laser samples using Er-doped Al₂O₃ films as insulating material. We compare annealed (800°C) and non-annealed devices and show that laser performance is not affected by the high-temperature annealing.