The first laser source integrated on a lithium niobate chip is available

Scientists from Harvard University in the United States wrote in the latest issue of "Optics" magazine that they have developed the first integrator integrated on a lithium niobate chip, which paves the way for its application of high-power communication systems, fully integrated spectrometers, optical remote sensing, quantum networks, and efficient frequency conversion.

Long-distance communication networks, optical interconnects in data centers, and microwave photonic systems all rely on lasers to generate optical carriers for data transmission, the researchers explained. But in most cases, the laser is a stand-alone device, located outside the modulator, which makes the overall system more expensive, less stable and less scalable.

In the latest study, researchers at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), working with industry partners, have developed the first fully integrated high-power laser on a lithium niobate chip. They integrated small but powerful distributed feedback lasers on a chip. These lasers are located in wells or trenches etched into the lithium niobate chip, and combined with a 50-gigahertz electro-optic modulator inside the lithium niobate, created a high-power transmitter.

The on-chip laser is combined with a 50-gigahertz electro-optic modulator to form a high-power transmitter.

"Integrating lithium niobate is an important platform for developing high-performance chip-scale optical systems, but fitting lasers onto lithium niobate chips has proven to be a great challenge," said Marco Loncar, senior author of the latest study. In this study, we leveraged nanofabrication techniques and techniques to overcome these challenges and achieve our goal of integrating high-power lasers on a thin-film lithium niobate platform."

"Integrating high-performance plug-and-play lasers will significantly reduce the cost, complexity and power consumption of future communication systems," said Amirasan Shams Ansari, first author of the latest study and a graduate student at SEAS. This integrated laser can be integrated into larger optical systems for a range of applications including sensing, lidar and data communications."

The research team emphasizes that combining thin-film lithium niobate devices with high-power lasers is a critical step toward large-scale, low-cost, high-performance emission arrays and optical networks. They plan to continue to improve the power and scalability of the lasers so that they can be used in more fields.