Feasibility analysis of laser action in erbium doped silicon waveguides

The authors analyze the feasibility of laser action in erbium-doped silicon devices. The recent experimental results on spontaneous light emission at 1.54 mum from erbium-doped silicon diodes and theoretical calculation on Bragg grating technology are used to evaluate the best scenario performances. The effects of processes-induced errors on the threshold conditions are taken into account. They show that laser action in the Er : Si system is feasible.