Monolithic electrically injected nanowire array edge-emitting laser on (001) silicon.

A silicon-based laser, preferably electrically pumped, has long been a scientific and engineering goal. We demonstrate here, for the first time, an edge-emitting InGaN/GaN disk-in-nanowire array electrically pumped laser emitting in the green (λ = 533 nm) on (001) silicon substrate. The devices display excellent dc and dynamic characteristics with values of threshold current density, differential gain, T0 and small signal modulation bandwidth equal to 1.76 kA/cm(2), 3 × 10(-17) cm(2), 232 K, and 5.8 GHz respectively under continuous wave operation. Preliminary reliability measurements indicate a lifetime of 7000 h. The emission wavelength can be tuned by varying the alloy composition in the quantum disks. The monolithic nanowire laser on (001)Si can therefore address wide-ranging applications such as solid state lighting, displays, plastic fiber communication, medical diagnostics, and silicon photonics.