On-chip hybrid erbium-doped tellurium oxide-silicon nitride distributed Bragg reflector lasers

We demonstrate integrated on-chip erbium-doped tellurite (TeO₂:Er³⁺) waveguide lasers fabricated on a wafer-scale silicon nitride platform. A 0.352-µm-thick TeO₂:Er³⁺ coating was deposited as an active medium on 0.2-µm-thick, 1.2- and 1.6-µm-wide, and 22-mm-long silicon nitride waveguides with sidewall-patterned asymmetrical distributed Bragg reflector cavities. The lasers yield efficiencies between 0.06 and 0.36%, lasing threshold ranging from 13 to 26 mW, and emission within the C-band (1530–1565 nm). These results establish new opportunities for this hybrid tellurite glass-silicon nitride platform, such as the co-integration of passive components and light sources in the telecom window, and provide the foundation for the development of efficient, compact, and high-output-power on-chip erbium-doped tellurite waveguide lasers.