Ultracompact Position-Controlled InP Nanopillar LEDs on Silicon with Bright Electroluminescence at Telecommunication Wavelengths

Abstract

Highly compact III–V compound semiconductor active nanophotonic devices integrated with silicon are important for future low power optical interconnects. One approach toward realizing heterogeneous integration and miniaturization of photonic devices is through nanowires/nanopillars grown directly on silicon substrates. However, to realize their full potential, the integration of nanowires/nanopillars with silicon-based electronics must be made scalable via precise control of nanopillar site and dimensions. Here we demonstrate the first electrical-pumped InGaAs/InP multiquantum-well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LED) using nanopillar array directly grown on a Si substrate with site control, with current conduction directly through the silicon. The growth is via catalyst-free, low-temperature metal organic chemical vapor deposition, which is CMOS compatible. We report excellent optical properties including long minority carrier lifetimes and room-temperature lasing under optical pumping. InGaAs/InP quantum w...