A laser that can be integrated onto a silicon wafer (silicon-on-chip laser) is a key element for silicon-based photonic integrated circuits. Our approach for realizing such a laser is to heterogeneously integrate an III-V gain material onto a silicon wafer as well as using nanostructures to control the characteristics of optical cavities. In this talk, our recent progress will be presented, including a record-high speed silicon-on-chip laser, an ultra-compact footprint laser based on bound states in the continuum, engineering of microcavity dispersion, a wavelength-selective photodetector.