Photonic integration of InGaAs/InGaAsP laser using low energy arsenic implantation induced disordering for quantum well intermixing

Quantum well intermixing (QWI) using a neutral impurity induced disordering technique is of great interest in producing photonic integrated circuits (PICs). We report a high selectivity QWI process using a low energy arsenic implantation induced disordering technique. Since it is known that free electrons from impurities result in high optical absorption and degrade the quality of the material after intermixing, arsenic, an electrically neutral species in the InGaAs/InGaAsP system, was chosen for the process development. The relatively low implantation energy, 360 keV, reduces the damage generation and results in a shallow implantation depth far away from the active region. We have successfully blue shifted quantum well laser material with a control on the amount of intermixing by varying the dose of As implantation at 200/spl deg/C. A wide range of differential bandgap shifts going up to 60 meV are reported. PICs such as extended cavity lasers and monolithic multiple wavelength laser sources are currently being investigated using this technique.