Recent progress in epitaxial growth of III–V quantum-dot lasers on silicon substrate

In the past few decades, numerous high-performance silicon (Si) photonic devices have been demonstrated. Si, as a photonic platform, has received renewed interest in recent years. Efficient Si-based III-V quantum-dot (QDs) lasers have long been a goal for semiconductor scientists because of the incomparable optical properties of III-V compounds. Although the material dissimilarity between III-V material and Si hindered the development of monolithic integrations for over 30 years, considerable breakthroughs happened in the 2000s. In this paper, we review recent progress in the epitaxial growth of various III-V QD lasers on both offcut Si substrate and on-axis Si (001) substrate. In addition, the fundamental challenges in monolithic growth will be explained together with the superior characteristics of QDs.