Optical computing is considered one of the most promising next-generation computing architectures. By using light to perform computation instead of using electrical signals in CPUs, one can expect unprecedented computing bandwidth with much lower power consumption. Until now, however, the realization of chip-scale optical computers has been hindered by the lack of an efficient group-IV laser that can be integrated into silicon-based CPU chips.
Over the past few years, our group has endeavored to develop practical group-IV on-chip lasers in the hope of completing the last missing link of electronic-photonics integrated circuits (EPICs). We have, for the first time, succeeded in observing lasing action in highly strained Ge nanowires. These days, we are pushing the boundaries of technology towards the realization of electrically-pumped room-temperature GeSn lasers.
Our grand aim is to integrate our Ge-based lasers and other key optoelectronic devices (e.g., detectors, modulators) into complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chips to realize integrated optical computers.
