Low-threshold InGaAsP ring lasers fabricated using bi-level dry etching

We report a novel bi-level etching technique that permits the use of standard photolithography for coupling to deeply etched ring resonator structures. The technique is employed to demonstrate InGaAsP laterally coupled racetrack ring resonators laser with record low threshold currents of 66 mA. The racetrack laser have curved sections of 150-mu m radius with negligible bending loss. The lasers operate continuous-wave single mode up to nearly twice threshold with a 26-dB side-mode-suppression ratio. Bi-level etching is of interest for fabrication of mesoscopic or microcavity photonic resonator structures without relying on submicrometer processing.