Energy Cost Analysis of Membrane Distributed-Reflector Lasers for On-Chip Optical Interconnects

The power consumption of lateral-current-injection semiconductor membrane distributed-reflector lasers with a λ/4 shift region has been theoretically evaluated, in terms of their ultralow-power-consumption and high-speed modulation operations. This paper contains an investigation into the optimal structure of the membrane laser in terms of its energy cost, for use in on-chip optical interconnections. The total power consumption was evaluated, taking Joule heating into account by assuming the device resistance. It was found that the large Joule heating effect present in shorter cavities limits a reduction of their power consumption. As a result, an energy cost of 63 fJ/bit can be obtained for 10 Gb/s data transmission, while maintaining the necessary power output required for a cavity length of 12 μm. We have provided a guide for designing microcavity lasers in terms of their Joule heating power.