InP Substrates Research Articles

Voltage-tunable graphene-InP schottky photodetector with enhanced responsivity using plasmonic waveguide integration

In this work, we propose and theoretically investigate a novel side-illuminated graphene Schottky photodetector (SIGS-PD) integrated on an InP waveguide platform suitable for the telecommunication wavelength of 1.55 μm. Bilayer graphene is positioned to absorb the transverse magnetic (TM) mode, with an InP substrate forming a Schottky junction to enable electrical connectivity and carrier separation. Through electrostatic gating, the graphene Fermi level is actively tuned to reach an epsilon-near-zero condition of 0.51 eV, transitioning the optical properties from dielectric to metallic. This supports reconfigurable plasmonic modes confined within the subwavelength graphene layer, interacting strongly with the TM optical mode. Responsivity of TM mode is enhanced 10 × TE mode reaching 1.24 A W−1 at the epsilon-near-zero point for the wavelength of 1.55 μm due to discontinuity and localization of the perpendicular electric field. The maximum responsivity is achieved at reverse bias of 4.5 V for device lengths under 4 μm. Dark current is suppressed to 10−15 A by the rectifying Schottky junction. An internal specific detectivity of 9.6 × 1012 Jones is predicted along with >25 GHz bandwidth, exploiting combined benefits of plasmonic enhancement and electrical transport control in the hybrid graphene-InP platform. The voltage-tunability of the graphene optical properties provides a pathway to dynamically optimize device performance. This work demonstrates a route towards high-responsivity and high-speed graphene photodetectors seamlessly integrated with photonic integrated circuits.

Wafer reconstitution: embedded multi-die III-V and silicon co-integration platform

Abstract Co-integration of III-V and silicon on the same substrate can enable many applications in photonics, RF, imaging, and sensing. Wafer reconstitution (WARE) is an embedded multi-die integration platform that allows for the integration of heterogenous materials on 200/300 mm Si substrates. This paper describes an integration flow for InP dies attached to 200 mm silicon. Electrical measurements on InGaAs diodes fabricated on WARE wafers confirm that the performance is similar to devices on native InP substrates.

Systematic analysis of the principles and application scenarios of Low-Noise Amplifier

As society advances, new ideas and products are increasingly integrated into our daily lives. 5th generation mobile networks tech enables faster, lag-free connectivity, raising performance standards for components like Low-Noise Amplifiers. Summarizing Low-Noise Amplifier tech and applications helps researchers and firms leverage past knowledge and explore innovations. This paper analyzes Low-Noise Amplifier development and application, discussing types, principles, key performance indicators, and circuit structures of basic amplifiers. Five vital Low-Noise Amplifier characteristicsnoise figure, impedance matching, linearity, stability, and gainare examined. The author introduces design and application cases in radio astronomy, navigation systems, and 5th generation mobile networks communications based on Low-Noise Amplifier characteristics and performance requirements. The author concludes that advancing radio frequency tech requires improved Low-Noise Amplifiers, especially for high-frequency signals in 5th generation mobile networks. Promising noise performance enhancements come from technologies like modified high electron mobility transistors on GaAs and InP substrates. Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit integration reduces size while maintaining cost-effective performance. Future advancements in these areas could further boost Low-Noise Amplifier performance.

Ge1−xSnx layers with x∼0.25 on InP(001) substrate grown by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy reaching 70 °C and in-situ Sb doping

Ge1−xSnx with x∼25%, group-IV alloy semiconductor, is highly attracted to mid-infrared (MIR) photodetector applications because of its narrow bandgap with ∼0.25 eV, the compatibility to the Si integrated circuit platform, and lattice matching of Ge0.75Sn0.25 to InP substrate. Although the heteroepitaxial growth of Ge0.75Sn0.25 on InP has been reported, the basic physical properties of Ge0.75Sn0.25 have not yet been clarified. In this study, we discuss three topics: (1) understanding the crystalline growth features of Ge0.75Sn0.25 on InP, (2) revealing the thermal stability of Ge0.75Sn0.25, and (3) developing a carrier-control technique. First, we found that a low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy could achieve a Ge0.75Sn0.25 layer with superior crystallinity without dislocations. However, low Sn-content Ge1−xSnx regions are locally formed during the Ge0.75Sn0.25 heteroepitaxy; the origins of the low Sn-content Ge1−xSnx regions were discussed by transmission electron microscopy analysis. In addition, we found that lowering the growth temperature from 100 °C to 70 °C also effectively reduces the area of the low Sn-content Ge1−xSnx regions. Next, we found that Ge0.75Sn0.25 layers grown at 70 °C sustain thermal stability up to 200 °C without causing crystalline degradations. Finally, we demonstrated the in-situ Sb doping to Ge0.75Sn0.25. We found that the undoped and in-situ Sb-doped Ge0.75Sn0.25 layers exhibited p-type and n-type conduction, respectively, with carrier concentrations of order 1019 cm−3 by Hall effect measurement. This study suggests the MIR photodetector application is practically possible using low-temperature processes with process temperatures lower than 200 °C.

Gain Coefficient Comparison between Silicon and InP Laser Diode Substrate

The article presents the study on the comparison of gain coefficient of laser diode on silicon and InP substrate. Fabry–Perot GaInAsP bulk laser diode on InP/Si substrate is successfully obtained to study the optical gain coefficient of laser diode. The influences of temperature, threshold current comparison, and optical gain achievements between bulk InP/Si laser diode substrate and InP laser diode substrate are also analyzed using the same growth structure. A new approach is found by the research group which involves bonding of 1 μm InP semiconductor crystal and a low‐cost silicon crystal prior to epitaxial laser structure growth. With the help of metal–organic vapor‐phase epitaxy technique, GaInAsP double‐heterostructure laser is epitaxially deposited on the well‐bonded InP/Si crystal. Fabry–Perot lasing under pulsed condition is achieved, and the lasing characteristics of InP/Si substrate are compared with that of InP laser device to study the gain coefficient.

Ultra-Broadband Ultraviolet-Visible Light-Short Wavelength Infrared InGaAs Focal Plane Arrays via n-InP Contact Layer Removal.

PIN InGaAs short wavelength infrared (SWIR) focal plane array (FPA) detectors have attracted extensive attention due to their high detectivity, high quantum efficiency, room temperature operation, low dark current, and good radiation resistance. Furthermore, InGaAs FPA detectors have wide applications in many fields, such as aviation safety, biomedicine, camouflage recognition, and infrared night vision. Recently, extensive research has been conducted on the extension of the response spectrum from short wavelength infrared (SWIR) to visible light (VIS) through InP substrate removal and reserving the n-InP contact layer. However, there is little research on the absorption of InGaAs detectors in the ultraviolet (UV) band. In this paper, we present an ultra-broadband UV-VIS-SWIR 640 × 512 15 μm InGaAs FPA detector by removing the n-InP contact layer in the active area and reserving the InP contact layer around the pixels for n contact, creating incident light to be directly absorbed by the In0.53Ga0.47As absorption layer. In addition, the optical absorption characteristics of InGaAs infrared detectors with and without an n-InP contact layer are studied theoretically. The test results show that the spectral response is extended to the range of 200-1700 nm. The quantum efficiency is higher than 45% over a broad wavelength range of 300-1650 nm. The operability is up to 99.98%, and the responsivity non-uniformity is 3.28%. The imaging capability of InGaAs FPAs without the n-InP contact layer has also been demonstrated, which proves the feasibility of simultaneous detection for these three bands.

Growth of single-crystalline GeSn films with high-Sn content on InP substrates by sputtering and rapid thermal annealing

In this work, the polycrystalline GeSn film with Sn content of 25.3 % on InP is obtained by sputtering at room temperature and then rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 300 ℃. The single-crystalline GeSn film with Sn content of 24.7 % on InP is obtained by sputtering at 200 ℃ and then RTA at 300 ℃. This indicates that the growth temperature is one of the key factors affecting the formation of single-crystalline films. The effects of the sputtering power and film thickness on the crystallization of the GeSn films are investigated. The competition between the spontaneous and substrate-induced crystallization of the films limits the preparation of single-crystalline GeSn films. The strain relaxation of the film (R = 69.3 %) is achieved by annealing. The device fabricated by the GeSn film exhibits a high response of 18.1 A/W @-1 V at room temperature with the 1550-nm-line excitation. These suggest that sputtering epitaxy can be an effective method for growing single-crystalline GeSn films with high-Sn content on InP substrates, which is of great significance for developing high-performance mid-infrared devices.

Size control of InP nanowires by in situ annealing and its application to the formation of InAsP quantum dots

We carried out in situ annealing of InP nanowires (NWs) in a metal-organic vapor phase epitaxial (MOVPE) growth reactor to control and reduce the tip size of InP NWs. InP NWs were grown by selective-area (SA) MOVPE on partially masked (111)A InP substrates, and annealing was successively applied in tertiarybutylphosphine (TBP) ambient. Initially, the InP NWs had a hexagonal cross-section with {112¯} facets vertical to the substrates; they became tapered, and the edges were rounded by annealing. By appropriately selecting the annealing temperature and initial NW diameter, the tip size of the NW was reduced and NWs with a tip size of 20 nm were successfully formed. Subsequently, a thin InAsP layer was grown on the annealed NWs and their photoluminescence was investigated at low temperatures. The characterization results indicated the formation of InAsP quantum dots (QDs) emitting in the telecom band. Our approach is useful for reducing the size of the NWs and for the controlled formation of InAsP QDs embedded in InP NWs in photonic devices compatible with telecom bands.

Suppressing substrate oxidation during plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition on semiconductor surfaces

Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) is widely employed in microelectronics, energy, and sensing applications. Typically, PE-ALD processes for metal oxides utilize remote inductively coupled plasmas operated at powers of >200 W, ensuring a sufficient flux of oxygen radicals to the growth surface. However, this approach often leads to significant oxidation of chemically sensitive substrates, including most technological semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate that plasma powers as low as 5 W can effectively suppress substrate oxidation while maintaining the structural, optical, and electronic quality of the films. Specifically, we investigate the growth of titanium oxide (TiOx) using two commonly used metalorganic precursors, titanium isopropoxide and tetrakis(dimethylamino)titanium. Films deposited with 5 and 300 W oxygen plasma power are nearly indiscernible from one another, exhibiting significantly lower defect concentrations than those obtained from thermal ALD with H2O. The low plasma power process preserves desired physical characteristics of PE-ALD films, including large optical constants (n > 2.45 at 589 nm), negligible defect-induced sub-bandgap optical absorption (α < 102 cm−1), and high electrical resistivity (>105 Ω cm). Similar behavior, including suppressed interface oxidation and low defect content, is observed on both Si and InP substrates. As an example application of this approach, the assessment of InP/TiOx photocathodes and Si/TiOx photoanodes reveals a significant improvement in the photocurrent onset potential in both cases, enabled by suppressed substrate oxidation during low power PE-ALD. Overall, low power PE-ALD represents a generally applicable strategy for producing high quality metal oxide thin films while minimizing detrimental substrate reactions.

Low-Temperature Growth of InGaAs Quantum Wells Using Migration-Enhanced Epitaxy.

The growth of InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) epitaxially on InP substrates is of great interest due to their wide application in optoelectronic devices. However, conventional molecular beam epitaxy requires substrate temperatures between 400 and 500 °C, which can lead to disorder scattering, dopant diffusion, and interface roughening, adversely affecting device performance. Lower growth temperatures enable the fabrication of high-speed optoelectronic devices by increasing arsenic antisite defects and reducing carrier lifetimes. This work investigates the low-temperature epitaxial growth of InAs/GaAs short-period superlattices as an ordered replacement for InGaAs quantum wells, using migration-enhanced epitaxy (MEE) with low growth temperatures down to 200-250 °C. The InAs/GaAs multi-quantum wells with InAlAs barriers using MEE grown at 230 °C show good single crystals with sharp interfaces, without mismatch dislocations found. The Raman results reveal that the MEE mode enables the growth of (InAs)4(GaAs)3/InAlAs QWs with excellent periodicity, effectively reducing alloy scattering. The room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) measurement shows the strong PL responses with narrow peaks, revealing the good quality of the MEE-grown QWs. The RT electron mobility of the sample grown in low-temperature MEE mode is as high as 2100 cm2/V∗s. In addition, the photoexcited band-edge carrier lifetime was about 3.3 ps at RT. The high-quality superlattices obtained confirm MEE's effectiveness for enabling advanced III-V device structures at reduced temperatures. This promises improved performance for applications in areas such as high-speed transistors, terahertz imaging, and optical communications.

Migration-Enhanced Epitaxial Growth of InAs/GaAs Short-Period Superlattices for THz Generation

The low-temperature-grown InGaAs (LT-InGaAs) photoconductive antenna has received great attention for the development of highly compact and integrated cheap THz sources. However, the performance of the LT-InGaAs photoconductive antenna is limited by its low resistivity and mobility. The generated radiated power is much weaker compared to the low-temperature-grown GaAs-based photoconductive antennas. This is mainly caused by the low abundance of excess As in LT-InGaAs with the conventional growth mode, which inevitably gives rise to the formation of As precipitate and alloy scattering after annealing. In this paper, the migration-enhanced molecular beam epitaxy technique is developed to grow high-quality (InAs)m/(GaAs)n short-period superlattices with a sharp interface instead of InGaAs on InP substrate. The improved electron mobility and resistivity at room temperature (RT) are found to be 843 cm2/(V·s) and 1648 ohm/sq, respectively, for the (InAs)m/(GaAs)n short-period superlattice. The band-edge photo-excited carrier lifetime is determined to be ~1.2 ps at RT. The calculated photocurrent intensity, obtained by solving the Maxwell wave equation and the coupled drift–diffusion/Poisson equation using the finite element method, is in good agreement with previously reported results. This work may provide a new approach for the material growth towards high-performance THz photoconductive antennas with high radiation power.

Sub‐0.6 eV Inverted Metamorphic GaInAs Cells Grown on Inp and GaAs Substrates for Thermophotovoltaics and Laser Power Conversion

AbstractInverted metamorphic Ga0.3In0.7As photovoltaic converters with sub‐0.60 eV bandgaps grown on InP and GaAs are presented. Threading dislocation densities are 1.3 ± 0.6 × 106 and 8.9 ± 1.7 × 106 cm−2 on InP and GaAs, respectively. The devices generate open‐circuit voltages of 0.386 and 0.383 V, respectively, under irradiance producing a short‐circuit current density of ≈10 A cm−2, yielding bandgap‐voltage offsets of 0.20 and 0.21 V. Power and broadband reflectance measurements are used to estimate thermophotovoltaic (TPV) efficiency. The InP‐based cell is estimated to yield 1.09 W cm−2 at 1100 °C versus 0.92 W cm−2 for the GaAs‐based cell, with efficiencies of 16.8 versus 9.2%. The efficiencies of both devices are limited by sub‐bandgap absorption, with power weighted sub‐bandgap reflectances of 81% and 58%, respectively, the majority of which is assumed to occur in the graded buffers. The 1100 °C TPV efficiencies are estimated to increase to 24.0% and 20.7% in structures with the graded buffer removed, if previously demonstrated reflectance is achieved. These devices also have application to laser power conversion in the 2.0–2.3 µm atmospheric window. Peak laser power converter efficiencies of 36.8% and 32.5% are estimated under 2.0 µm irradiances of 1.86 and 2.81 W cm−2, respectively.

Photonic engineering of InP towards homoepitaxial short-wavelength infrared VCSELs

Many emerging opportunities, such as three-dimensional (3D) sensing, biophotonics, and optical data links, call for vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that operate in the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) range. In this paper, we report the use of InP distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirrors to overcome an impasse in wafer-level mass production of SWIR VCSELs. The DBRs were based on homoepitaxial InP structures and selectively converted through electrochemistry into quarter-wavelength stack structures of alternating nanoporous (NP) and nonporous InP layers with a record index contrast (Δn∼1.0) and near-unity reflectivity. We demonstrated VCSEL operation at both 1380 and 1550 nm from two separate structures prepared on InP substrates using NP–InP DBRs as the bottom mirror and dielectric DBRs as the top mirror. Room temperature continuous-wave (CW) operation of SWIR VCSELs was successfully achieved at both wavelengths with a threshold current density below 2kA/cm2, greater than milliwatt optical output, and a peak power conversion efficiency of 17%. Our work provides strong evidence that the decades-old challenge, in preparing an InP-compatible, high-performance DBR to support the SWIR-emitting vertical cavity, has been addressed and is poised to enable new applications.

Full-stokes polarization photodetector based on the chiral metasurface with the dislocated double gold rod configurations

The filterless polarization-sensitive optoelectronic device generally has low discrimination, thus severely hindering the development of monolithic full-polarization detectors. We numerically demonstrate a circular polarization photodetector composed of the dislocated 2-bar gold chiral metasurfaces modulating the circular polarization lights and the InGaAs/InP detector chip detecting light intensity signals. The chiral metasurfaces excite the electric field loops with different spins when irradiated with different chiral light, and it explains the high extinction ratios of 21:1 in circularly polarized detectors. In addition, the linear dichroism (LD) and extinction ratios (ER) of the linear polarization device are 0.85 and 80:1, respectively. The excellent ER performance is caused by the boundary state between the metal grating and the InP substrate. The full Stokes pixel based on the six-image-element technique can almost accurately measure arbitrary polarized light at 1550 nm operation wavelength, whose errors of the degree of linear polarizations (Dolp) and the degree of circular polarizations (Docp) are less than −35 dB and −10 dB, respectively.

Mid-wavelength infrared focal plane array based on type II InAs/GaSb superlattices on InP substrate

We report the growth and characterization of band gap engineered mid-wavelength infrared photodiode, pBiBn, based on type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices on InP substrate. InP substrates are attractive material because they have high transmittance in the mid-wavelength infrared region and near thermal expansion coefficient to Si read-out IC (ROIC). Misfit dislocations due to lattice mismatch between GaSb and InP were successfully suppressed by thick GaSb buffer layer and two step growth of it. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum from the absorption layers exhibits a peak wavelength of 5.01 μm at 77 K. The distinct PL peak was observed even at 120 K, indicating the excellent crystalline quality of T2SLs grown on an InP substrate. The dark current densities of 292 × 10−6 A/cm2 at 77 K and cut off wavelength of 5.15 μm at 80 K were measured, respectively. A clear image was obtained by fabricated focal plane array of 640 × 512 pixels with 15 μm pixel pitch, and NEDT and defective pixel rate was 50 mK and less than 1 % at 100 K, respectively.

The interfacial features in photoluminescence of In0.52Al0.48As/InP distinguished with selective excitation

The photoluminescence experiment was performed at 77 K on two types of heterostructures of In0.52Al0.48As/InP grown by molecular beam epitaxy. One type has the so-called direct interface formed with In0.52Al0.48As grown on the InP (100) substrate, and another is a double heterostructure type, i.e., InP/In0.52Al0.48As/InP, including the inverse interface formed with the InP cap. The thickness of both the as-grown InAlAs and InP layers is 2 µm. Under the excitation of 852 nm semiconductor laser, a single peak at 1.198 eV (P0) was observed for the direct interface whereas the inverse interface showed two peaks at 1.240 eV (P1) and 1.117 eV (P2). However, P2 manifests differently from P1 with two interesting features. First, it disappears when the excitation was replaced with the 532 nm laser. Second, when the cap layer of InP/In0.52Al0.48As/InP is thinned to 200 nm, P2 displays a large blueshift effect with the increase in laser intensity, but the extent of blueshift drops when the excitation is increased further into a higher power range. The phenomenon of P2 was attributed to the interface excitation-induced interplay between the luminescence with a carrier localization effect and that caused by the recombination of 2-dimensional electrons with the light-injected holes in the potential well at the interface.

Different spectral features near the energy bandgaps of normal and inverse heterostructures of In<sub>0.52</sub>Al<sub>0.48</sub>As/InP

Photoconductivity (PC) spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were used to characterize two heterostructure configurations of InAlAs/InP grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on the InP (100) substrate. The sample A is the type called normal heterostructure, which has an In<sub>0.52</sub>Al<sub>0.48</sub>As layer grown on InP, while sample B is called the inverse type formed by an InP cap layer on In<sub>0.52</sub>Al<sub>0.48</sub>As. The front excitation was employed in both PC experiment and PL experiment and the measurements were conducted at 77 K. The PC spectrum of sample A shows an abnormal step-like drop when the photon energy is larger than the energy band gap of In<sub>0.52</sub>Al<sub>0.48</sub>As. The phenomenon implies that the conductance of sample is a multilayer effect including the contribution of interfacial two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Moreover, a conductance peak is observed at 916 nm below the bandgap of InP. Accordingly, an intense luminescent peak at the wavelength manifests in the PL spectrum. The origin of the 916 nm peak is attributed to the recombination of 2DEG electrons with the valence band holes excited near the interface. However, the spectral feature of the above energy does not exist in both PC and PL spectra of sample B. This difference may be explained by the different interface electronic structures of the inverse interface. For the latter case, considering that a graded variation in In-As-P composition is related to the inverse interface of InP/InAlAs, the band bending effect should be weak. In such a case, the bound energy of 2DEG in the interface potential well is raised closer to the conductance band of the bulk. Consequently, the recombination energy of 2DEG at the inverse interface with the holes in the valence band is close to the band-to-band transition of InP bulk and the luminescence is difficult to be distinguished from that of bulk InP. The work also demonstrates that the comparative study with both PC technique and PL technique is helpful to provide a full insight into the interface electronic property.

(Invited) Applications of Electrochemistry Toward Blue/Green and SWIR-Wavelength VCSELs

Unlike the more established edge-emitting lasers (EELs) with a horizontal Fabry-Perot (FB) cavity, VCSELs have a vertical cavity with highly reflective top and bottom mirrors sandwiching the active region. This design enables wafer-level testing, one- and two-dimensional arrayed integration, and scalability for low- and high-power applications. VCSELs are poised to surpass EELs as a more versatile and intelligent option for semiconductor lasers in the future.Currently commercially available VCSELs only cover the red to near-infrared (NIR) range of 700-1100nm, whereas EELs offer products across a wide spectral range. The optimal active regions for blue and short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) spectra are only supported on GaN and InP substrates, respectively. Lattice-matched, epitaxial mirrors compatible with these two substrates remain major challenges. As a solution, we propose the use of electrochemistry to engineer the refractive index of the material. The innovation is based on the recognition that nanoporous (NP) semiconductor layers can be considered a nanocomposite with nanoscale voids of air uniformly dispersed in a single-crystalline semiconductor, thus rendering a unique way to control the effective optical index with a tunability that is typically un-attainable through epitaxy.We have studied the electrochemistry of semiconductors for applications in photonics, beginning with GaN and most recently with InP. In both material systems, we have discovered a selective porosification process based on the doping concentration. Due to the doping selectivity in EC etching, layers with high doping concentration will be converted to low index nanoporous material with an unprecedented tunability in the refractive index depending on the porosity. Meanwhile, the lightly doped layers remain intact. As a result, highly reflective mirrors were fabricated on GaN and InP substrates with wide stopbands. In this talk, we will provide latest updates in the VCSEL performances in the blue/green and long-wavelength region.

Direct growth of lattice mismatched InP on GaAs substrate with AlAs/GaAs superlattice-induced lateral quasi-quantum-wire buffer

With the technological importance, the demand on the infrared photonic and high-speed electronic devices is increasing in line with the needs for InP substrate which is used for the platform to grow the device structure. However, the InP substrate is not only limited to small diameter but also has poor mechanical hardness which are the bottleneck in reducing the device fabrication cost. In this regard, various methods are proposed to obtain InP template which grown on cheap and robust substrates as an alternative to replace the native InP substrate. In this article, we report an InP layer directly grown on GaAs substrate with the help of AlAs/GaAs superlattice-induced lateral quasi-quantum-wire buffer. The InP layer exhibited enhanced material quality with low defect density as a result of strain relaxation induced by the lateral quasi-quantum wires. This result can give insight into the alternative route to create large and robust InP template for low cost InP-based device applications.

Optical and Mechanical Properties of Si-Based Thin Films for Photonic Applications

In this talk, we will review recent advances in the fabrication and characterization of silicon-based thin film structures for photonic applications, including rare earth doped silicon oxynitrides and luminescent silicon carbonitrides.For Si-based materials to be used in solid-state lighting (SSL) and silicon photonics schemes it is necessary to have precise control of the optical emission from these materials. This can be accomplished using rare earth dopants such as Ce, Tb, and Eu to obtain blue, green, and red emissions, respectively. After a brief review of the latest developments in the field, this talk will focus on Eu-doped films, which are attractive for silicon photonic applications due to their intense emission in the visible spectral region [1]. The films are fabricated by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (ECR-PECVD) and doping is accomplished using a novel hybrid radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering source in the ECR-PECVD reactor chamber [2]. This approach contrasts with traditional doping methods which use metal-organic precursors to introduce rare-earth dopant species into the host matrix. We will discuss the relationship between the photoluminescence, elasticity, and hardness of Eu doped silicon oxynitride (SiON) thin films.As the efficiency of photonic devices can be influenced by the mechanical properties of the deposited films, a good understanding of their mechanical properties is required for the integration of these films in photonic devices. SiNx thin films, for example, play an important role in strain engineering of active photonic devices, such as diode lasers fabricated on GaAs or InP substrates. We will discuss results of a collaboration between McMaster and the Université de Rennes in France, aimed at quantifying the effects of structured dielectric thin films on the generation of a mechanical strain field in the semiconductor through tuning the amount of mechanical stress present in the dielectric thin film, as a function of the details of the deposition process [3].[1] Fahmida Azmi et al., “Tunable Emission from Eu:SiOxNy Thin Films Prepared by Integrated Magnetron Sputtering and Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 40, 043402 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001761[2] J.W. Miller et al., “Integrated ECR-PECVD and Magnetron Sputtering System for Rare-Earth-Doped Si-Based Materials”, Surface and Coatings Technology 336, 99 (2018); doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.08.051[3] Brahim Ahammou et al., “Strain engineering in III-V photonic components through structuration of SiNx films”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 40, 012202 (2022); doi: 10.1116/6.0001352