In search of a Si/SiGe THz quantum cascade laser

While electroluminescence has been demonstrated at terahertz frequencies from Si/SiGe quantum cascade emitters, to date no laser has been achieved due to poor vertical confinement of the optical mode. A method of increasing the vertical confinement of the optical mode for a Si/SiGe quantum cascade laser is demonstrated using silicon-on-silicide technology. Such technology is used with epitaxial growth to demonstrate a strain-symmetrised 600 period Si/SiGe quantum cascade interwell emission and the polarisation is used to demonstrate the optical confinement. Electroluminescence is demonstrated at /spl sim/3 THz (/spl sim/100 /spl mu/m) from an interwell quantum cascade emitter structure. Calculated model overlap and waveguide losses for ridge waveguides are comparable to values from GaAs quantum cascade lasers demonstrated at terahertz frequencies.