SPIE PW2026: CEA-Leti advances silicon-integrated quantum cascade lasers

22 Jan 2026

Photonics West presentations compare three complementary hybrid laser architectures.

CEA-Leti has this week presented some of its latest photonics-related achievements at SPIE Photonics West. The France-based research center is highlighting its researchers’ progress in the integration of quantum cascade lasers with silicon photonics for mid-infrared applications.

Besides the exhibition, CEA-Leti scientists presented two related papers, Co-packaging of organic photodetector with microLED matrix for multifunctional display bio-applications, by Michaël Pelissier, and Advanced Architectures for Hybrid III-V/Silicon Quantum Cascade Lasers: Toward Integrated Mid-Infrared Photonic Platforms, by Alexis Hobl.

The latter compared three complementary hybrid laser architectures that are together advancing the flexibility, and scalability of mid-infrared photonics.

Hobl said that mid-infrared light “plays a critical role in technologies such as gas sensing, chemical spectroscopy, biomedical diagnostics, and security, because many molecules exhibit strong absorption signatures in this spectral region.”

Despite the technology’s importance, conventional MIR photonic systems remain large, costly, and difficult to manufacture at scale, Hobl said. Therefore integrating MIR light sources directly onto silicon photonic platforms offers a route toward smaller, more robust, and more manufacturable systems—bringing mid-infrared photonics closer to the level of integration in the near-infrared.

Integration and scalability

By combining adiabatic optical coupling, silicon-based feedback and cavity engineering, and ultra-compact laser concepts, CEA-Leti says it has established several viable integration pathways rather than a single, one-size-fits-all solution.

Hobl added, “By combining quantum cascade lasers with silicon photonics, we are bringing mid-infrared sources closer to the level of integration and scalability that silicon platforms have already achieved in the near-infrared.”

Future work will focus on further improving optical coupling efficiency, fabrication robustness, and thermal and electrical management, as well as integrating additional on-chip photonic functions such as filters, multiplexers, and interferometric circuits. Demonstrating wafer-scale reproducibility and packaging-ready designs will be key milestones on the path toward fully integrated mid-infrared photonic systems.