A laser diode for integrated photon pair generation at telecom wavelength

A fully integrated photon pair source is a key element to achieve quantum optics circuitry on chip. Such a source could be easily combined with promising nanophotonic technologies such as plasmonic waveguides [1] or multipath integrated optical interferometer [2]. As mature technologies, semiconductors exhibit a huge potential in terms of integration (electrical pumping, advanced nanostructure design). Our device based on AlGaAs waveguides is designed to emit photon pairs at room temperature and telecommunication wavelength. Due to its very high nonlinear coefficient, AlGaAs is a material of choice for this purpose; however, since this semiconductor is not birefringent, phase matching conditions for spontaneous down conversion (SPDC) require an original design. We developed a structure based on modal phase-matching involving pump Bragg mode, as proposed in [3]. Here, we report on an electrically pumped device designed to emit photon pairs around 1.56 μm: second harmonic generation (SHG) and lasing on a Bragg mode around 780 nm under electrical pumping have been observed.