A domestic research team has succeeded in developing technology to mass-produce quantum dot lasers, which are widely used in data centers and quantum communications. This opens the way to drastically reducing the production cost of semiconductor lasers to one-sixth of the existing cost.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 8th that it has developed a technology that can mass-produce quantum dot lasers, which were previously only available for research purposes, for the first time in Korea using a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system.

ETRI's Optical Communication Components Laboratory has succeeded in developing an indium arsenide/gallium arsenide (InAs/GaAs) quantum dot laser diode that can be used in the 1.3㎛ wavelength band for optical communications on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate using highly productive organic chemical vapor deposition equipment.

Existing quantum dot laser diodes were made using molecular beam deposition (MBE).

However, in the case of this equipment, the deposition speed was slow and production efficiency was low, making it difficult to mass-produce.

Researchers have increased the productivity of quantum dot lasers by utilizing high-efficiency MOCVD.

Quantum dot lasers have good temperature characteristics and are relatively free from substrate defects.

Therefore, it is possible to enlarge the substrate area.

This makes it possible to develop low-power light sources, which can significantly reduce power consumption and production costs.

The quantum dot manufacturing technology developed by the research team has the advantage of high quantum dot density and high uniformity.

The developed quantum dot semiconductor laser operated continuously up to 75 degrees.

These results are the world's best for organic chemical vapor deposition.

Existing communication devices were manufactured using expensive 2-inch indium phosphide (InP) substrates, making their manufacturing costs very high.

The technology is less than a third the price of indium-based substrates and can reduce the cost of manufacturing semiconductor lasers for communications by more than a sixth using a 6-inch gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate, the researchers report. there is.

This technology can utilize large-area substrates with high defect density, making it easy to shorten process times and reduce material costs.

The research team plans to further develop this achievement, increase its reliability through verification, and transfer the technology to domestic optical communications companies.

The company plans to shorten the time to commercialize its products by receiving support for core technologies and infrastructure through ETRI's communications semiconductor foundry.

It is expected that the company will be able to increase its share of overseas markets by significantly reducing future development periods and production costs, thereby improving product price competitiveness.

It is expected that this will promote the growth of the domestic optical communication components industry.

In modern society, optical communications serve as the aorta of our industry.

The research team's latest achievement is expected to serve as a groundbreaking catalyst for the development of optical sources for optical communications that will connect apartment complexes to large cities and submarine optical cables.

Professor Geum Dae-myeong of Chungbuk National University, who participated in this study, said, “Quantum dot mass production technology can lower the production cost of expensive optical communication devices in the future, which will not only strengthen the competitiveness of the national optical communication component industry but also greatly contribute to basic science research.”

Dr. Ho-seong Kim of ETRI's Optical Communication Components Laboratory said, "The results of this research are an example of securing both commerciality and originality, and are important results that can change the paradigm of the semiconductor laser industry for optical communications in the future."

This achievement was achieved through the ETRI basic project 'ICT Creative Technology Development' project. It was also recently published in an international SCI journal.