Silicon-based microlaser by doped thin films
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsChih-Chen Cho, Walter M. Duncan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A silicon-based microlaser formed of rare-earth-doped CaF.sub.2 thin films has a semiconductor substrate material (240) and a CaF.sub.2 film layers (234) grown on semiconductor substrate material (240), The CaF.sub.2 film layer (234) is doped with a predetermined amount of rare-earth-dopant that is sufficient to cause a spectral emission from the CaF.sub.2 film layer (234) having a narrow linewidth when the CaF.sub.2 film layer (234) is optically or electrically pumped.
Claims26
A silicon-based microlaser formed of doped thin material films, comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate material comprising silicon;
- at least one layer of CaF.sub.2 grown on said semiconductor substrate material comprising a predetermined amount of dopant sufficient to cause spectral emissions on said layer when pumped;
- said spectral emissions having a high intensity an narrow emission linewidths;
- said layer further having a thickness within an order of magnitude of the wavelength of said spectral emission such that intensities of said spectral emissions are insensitive to crystal quality of the layer.
A method for producing a spectral emission comprising the steps of:
- forming a thin film layer of CaF.sub.2 over a semiconductor substrate material comprising silicon, said thin film layer comprising a predetermined amount of dopant;
- and
- pumping said thin film layer to produce a spectral emission having a narrow linewidth wherein said thin film layer has a thickness within an order of magnitude of the wavelength of said spectral emission, and wherein the intensity of said spectral emission is generally insensitive to whether said thin film layer is epitaxial or polycrystalline.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.