Silicon-germanium saturable absorbers and erbium-doped waveguides for integrated mode-locked lasers

Abstract

In this thesis, Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) Saturable Bragg Reflectors (SBR) and Erbium-doped waveguide chips are fabricated and characterized as crucial components for integration of a mode-locked laser on a Si-chip. The SiGe-SBR is designed to be compatible with Si-based fabrication processes for monolithic integration and to need as little saturation fluence as possible so that it can be used for higher repetition rate lasers application. The SBRs are tested experimentally inside an Erbium glass bulk laser. We also tested Erbium-doped waveguide chips fabricated by Inplane Photonics Inc. to verify that it has enough gain to function as a gain medium of an on-chip laser. These components will be important as intermediate steps before finally integrating mode-locked laser.