Hybrid Silicon Devices for Energy-Efficient Optical Transmitters

Decreasing energy limits for data transport have resulted in efforts to reduce energy consumption in optical interconnects. The authors introduce three possible integration techniques for realizing a hybrid silicon transmitter on a single chip with distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and electro-absorption modulators. They review the current bottlenecks and techniques for further reducing threshold current and increasing the wall-plug efficiency of these lasers.