Butt-joint regrowth method by MOCVD for integration of evanescent wave coupled photodetector and multi-quantum well semiconductor optical amplifier

Abstract

We have realized integration of evanescent wave coupled photodetector (ECPD) and multi-quantum well (MQW) semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) on MOCVD platform by investigating butt-joint regrowth method of thick InP/InGaAsP waveguides to deep etched SOA mesas. The combination of inductively coupled plasma etching and wet chemical etching technique has been studied to define the final mesa shape before regrowth. By comparing the etching profiles of different non-selective etchants, we have obtained a controllable non-reentrant mesa shape with smooth sidewall by applying one step 2HBr:2H3PO4:K2Cr2O7 wet etching. A high growth temperature of 680 °C is found helpful to enhance planar regrowth. By comparing the growth morphologies and simulating optical transmission along different directions, we determined that waveguides should travel across the regrowth interface along the [110] direction. The relation between growth rate and mask design has been extensively studied and the result can provide an important guidance for future mask design and vertical alignment between the active and passive cores. ECPD-SOA integrated device has been successfully achieved by this method without further regrowth steps and provided a responsivity of 7.8 A/W. The butt-joint interface insertion loss is estimated to be 1.05 dB/interface.