Optimized Design of Buried Grating for InAs Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback Lasers

LIU Shuaicheng; LIU Hao; JIANG Chen; QI Xuanliang; WANG Bojian; CAO Shuai; WANG Jun; WANG Qi; REN Xiaomin

doi:10.3788/gzxb20265507.0714003

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Optimized Design of Buried Grating for InAs Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback Lasers

更新时间：2026-06-12

- Optimized Design of Buried Grating for InAs Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback Lasers
- Acta Photonica Sinica Pages: 1-9(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  北京邮电大学电子工程学院信息光子学与光通信全国重点实验室，北京 100876
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
  
  The National Natural Science Foundation of China(62204021);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFB2200104);the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China(62021005);the Funds of the State Key Laboratory of the IPOC （BUPT）(IPOC2022ZT05);the 111 Project of China(BP0719012)
- DOI：10.3788/gzxb20265507.0714003
  CLC： TN365
- CSTR：32255.14.gzxb20265507.0714003
- Received：14 February 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-04-22，
  
  Accepted：23 April 2026，
- 稿件说明：
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刘帅呈，刘昊，江晨，等. InAs量子点分布反馈激光器的掩埋光栅优化设计［J］.光子学报，2026，55（7）：0714003

LIU Shuaicheng， LIU Hao， JIANG Chen， et al. Optimized Design of Buried Grating for InAs Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback Lasers［J］. Acta Photonica Sinica， 2026， 55（7）：0714003
刘帅呈，刘昊，江晨，等. InAs量子点分布反馈激光器的掩埋光栅优化设计［J］.光子学报，2026，55（7）：0714003 DOI： 10.3788/gzxb20265507.0714003. CSTR： 32255.14.gzxb20265507.0714003.

LIU Shuaicheng， LIU Hao， JIANG Chen， et al. Optimized Design of Buried Grating for InAs Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback Lasers［J］. Acta Photonica Sinica， 2026， 55（7）：0714003 DOI： 10.3788/gzxb20265507.0714003. CSTR： 32255.14.gzxb20265507.0714003.

摘要

分布反馈激光器中光栅耦合系数κ的稳定性对器件单模输出和工艺可实现性具有重要影响。针对传统掩埋光栅结构中κ对刻蚀深度高度敏感的问题，本文提出了一种用于InAs量子点分布反馈激光器的侧向掩埋光栅结构，该结构通过将光栅置于脊型波导两侧，使侧向光栅与有源区光场产生横向耦合，从而使κ主要由侧向结构参数决定，可降低其对刻蚀深度及外延结构波动的敏感性。系统分析了脊波导宽度、光栅尺寸、刻蚀深度、套刻误差以及外延结构等参数对κ的影响规律。仿真结果表明，该侧向掩埋光栅结构在较宽工艺参数范围内能够实现稳定、可控的κ，并具有良好的工艺容忍性。激光器模拟结果进一步表明，基于该结构的分布反馈激光器可实现稳定的单纵模激射，整体性能与常规掩埋光栅结构相当。

Abstract

This study aims to design a lateral buried grating structure for InAs quantum dot （QD） distributed feedback （DFB） lasers to resolve the high sensitivity of the coupling coefficient （κ） to etching depth in conventional buried gratings. In typical GaAs-based or silicon-based QD lasers， the precise control of κ is often hindered by the lack of effective etch-stop layers， leading to significant performance instability. By positioning the grating on both sides of the ridge waveguide， this research utilizes a lateral coupling mechanism to make κ primarily dependent on lateral geometric parameters rather than vertical etching precision. The ultimate objective is to provide a fabrication-friendly design that ensures stable single-mode operation with high tolerance to process fluctuations.The investigation utilizes the finite difference eigenmode （FDE） method and the mode convolution method to analyze the impact of various structural parameters on device performance. Initially， a three-layer equivalent slab waveguide model is employed to calculate the single-mode cutoff conditions， helping to sel

ect an appropriate ridge width between 2.5 μm and 5 μm. The lateral buried grating is located in the upper waveguide layer on both sides of the ridge bottom， close to the active region. The research quantified how κ is affected by ridge width， grating width （0 to 10 μm）， and grating etching depth （0 to 200 nm）. Furthermore， the study evaluated the influence of overlay errors （0 to 1 μm） caused by UV lithography alignment between the grating and the ridge waveguide. Structural robustness is also assessed by simulating variations in the waveguide layer thickness （60 to 200 nm） and the number of InAs QD layers （5 to 8 layers）. Finally， a device-level simulation is performed for a 1 mm cavity to characterize the optoelectronic performance.The simulation results reveal distinct physical trends and significant advantages of the lateral buried grating structure. As ridge width increases from 2.5 μm to 5 μm， κ decreases monotonically from 1.60 mm

-1

to 0.25 mm

-1

because the optical field becomes increasingly concentrated beneath the ridge center， reducing overlap with the lateral gratings. Regarding grating width， κ rapidly increases and saturates at approximately 0.99 mm

-1

when the grating width reaches 1 μm， indicating that further widening beyond this value yields negligible additional feedback. Most importantly， the lateral buried grating exhibits drastically reduced sensitivity to etching depth variations compared to conventional buried gratings. Over an etching depth range of 0-50 nm， κ for the lateral buried grating increases gradually from 0 to 1.17 mm

-1

， whereas for a conventional buried grating under identical conditions， κ surges from 0 to 18.02 mm

-1

. Thus， the variation amplitude of κ in the proposed structure is only about 6% that of the conventional design. Furthermore， when etching depth extends to 200 nm， κ of the lateral buried grating reaches only about 1.9 mm

-1

， still far below the values of conventional gratings. The structure also demon

strates reasonable tolerance to overlay errors： within the typical UV lithography alignment accuracy of 0.5 μm， κ increases from 0.99 mm

-1

to approximately 1.8 mm

-1

for a 3 μm ridge width， a moderate change that remains manageable for device design. For ridge widths of 4 μm or larger， the overlay sensitivity is even lower. The lateral buried grating also shows excellent epitaxial robustness： when the waveguide layer thickness varies from 60 nm to 200 nm， κ increases only slightly （e.g.， from 1.17 mm

-1

to about 1.35 mm

-1

at 30 nm etching depth）. Similarly， increasing the number of QD layers from 5 to 8 causes κ to rise merely from 0.99 mm

-1

to 1.18 mm

-1

for a 3 μm ridge width. Based on these analyses， a recommended parameter set （ridge width 3-5 μm， grating width 5 μm， etching depth 30 nm） yields κ in the range of 1-3 mm

-1

， suitable for optimal DFB operation. Device-level simulations confirm that the lateral buried grating DFB laser achieves stable single-longitudinal-mode lasing with high side-mode suppression ratio （SMSR） and power-current-voltage （P-I-V） characteristics comparable to conventional buried grating designs， indicating no performance penalty.The proposed lateral buried grating structure effectively decouples the coupling coefficient κ from vertical etching depth variations， eliminating the need for etch-stop layers in GaAs-based or silicon-based InAs quantum dot DFB lasers. This design intrinsically provides high process stability and controllability， reducing κ variation to only about 6% of that in conventional buried gratings under identical etching fluctuations. The structure exhibits excellent tolerance to variations in ridge width， grating width， waveguide layer thickness， and number of QD layers， while remaining compatible with standard UV lithography overlay accuracy. Importantly， this approach does not compromise device optoelectronic performance， as verified by laser simulations showing stable single-mode operation

and high SMSR. Given that the transverse coupling mechanism is independent of the specific active region material， the design is also readily applicable to quantum well lasers. This work offers a practical， high-tolerance， and fabrication-friendly solution for realizing high-performance， stable DFB lasers， facilitating the development of next-generation photonic integrated circuits and optical interconnects.

关键词

Keywords

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