Integrated Optoelectronics Research Articles

High-speed electroluminescence from semiconducting carbon nanotube films

High-speed light emitters integrated on silicon chips can enable novel architectures for silicon-based optoelectronics, such as on-chip optical interconnects and silicon photonics. However, conventional light sources based on compound semiconductors face major challenges for their integration with the silicon-based platforms because of the difficulty of their direct growth on a silicon substrate. Here, we report high-speed, ultra-small-size on-chip electroluminescence (EL) emitters based on semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) thin films. The peaks of the EL emission spectra are about 0.15-eV redshifted from the peaks of the absorption and photoluminescence emission spectra, which probably suggest emission from trions. High-speed responses of ∼100 ps were experimentally observed from the EL emitters, which indicate the possibility of several-GHz modulation. The pulsed light generation was also obtained by applying the pulse voltage. These high-speed and ultra-small-size EL emitters can enable novel on-chip optoelectronic devices for highly integrated optoelectronics and silicon photonics.

On-wafer fabrication of etched-mirror UV-C laser diodes with the ALD-deposited DBR

We have demonstrated an on-wafer fabrication process for AlGaN-based UV-C laser diodes (LDs) with etched mirrors and have achieved lasing for 100 ns pulsed current injection at room temperature. A combined process of dry and wet etching was employed to achieve smooth and vertical AlGaN (11¯00) facets. These etched facets were then uniformly coated with a distributed Bragg reflector by atomic layer deposition. A remarkable reduction of the lasing threshold current density to 19.6 kA/cm2 was obtained owing to the high reflectivity of the etched and coated mirror facets. The entire laser diode fabrication process was carried out on a whole 2-in. wafer. We propose this mirror fabrication process as a viable low-cost AlGaN-based UV-C LD production method that is also compatible with highly integrated optoelectronics based on AlN substrates.

Mg acceptor activation mechanism and hole transport characteristics in highly Mg-doped AlGaN alloys**Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2017YFB0403100 and 2017YFB0403101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61704149, 61674076, and 61605071), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant Nos. BY2013077, BK20141320, and BE2015111), the Project of Science

The Mg acceptor activation mechanism and hole transport characteristics in AlGaN alloy with Mg doping concentration (∼ 1020 cm−3) grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are systematically studied through optical and electrical properties. Emission lines of shallow oxygen donors and (VIII complex)1− as well as and neutral Mg acceptors are observed, which indicate that self-compensation is occurred in Mg-doped AlGaN at highly doping levels. The fitting of the temperature-dependent Hall effect data shows that the acceptor activation energy values in Mg-doped AlxGa1 − xN (x = 0.23, 0.35) are 172 meV and 242 meV, and the hole concentrations at room temperature are 1.2 × 1018 cm−3 and 3.3 × 1017 cm−3, respectively. Therefore, it is believed that there exists the combined effect of the Coulomb potentials of the dopants and screening of the Coulomb potentials by a high hole concentration. Moreover, due to the high ionized acceptors’ concentration and compensation ratio, the impurity conduction becomes more prominent and the valence band mobility drops sharply at low temperature.

High performance silicon-based GeSn p–i–n photodetectors for short-wave infrared application**Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFB2200500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61675195, 61934007, and 61974170), Opened Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, China (Grant No. IOSKL2018KF17), and Beijing Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant No. 4162063).

An investigation of germanium-tin (GeSn) on silicon p–i–n photodetectors with a high-quality Ge0.94Sn0.06 absorbing layer is reported. The GeSn photodetector reached a responsivity as high as 0.45 A/W at the wavelength of 1550 nm and 0.12 A/W at the wavelength of 2 μm. A cycle annealing technology was applied to improve the quality of the epitaxial layer during the growth process by molecular beam epitaxy. A low dark-current density under 1 V reverse bias about 0.078 A/cm2 was achieved at room temperature. Furthermore, the GeSn photodetector could detect a wide spectrum region and the cutoff wavelength reached to about 2.3 μm. This work has great importance in silicon-based short-wave infrared detection.

Fabrication and Characterization of GaN-Based Micro-LEDs on Silicon Substrate**Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant No 2016YFB0400100, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61674076, 61674081 and 61605071, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under Grant Nos BY2013077, BK20141320 and BE2015111, the Six Talent Peaks Project of Jiangsu Province under

GaN-based micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) on silicon (Si) substrates with 40 μm in diameter are developed utilizing standard photolithography and inductively coupled plasma etching techniques. From current-voltage curves, the relatively low turn-on voltage of 2.8 V and low reverse leakage current in the order of 10−8 A/cm2 indicate good electrical characteristics. As the injection current increases, the electroluminescence emission wavelength hardly shifts at around 433 nm, and the relative external quantum efficiency slightly decays, because the impact of quantum-confined Stark effect is not serious in violet-blue micro-LEDs. Since GaN-LEDs are cost effective on large-area Si and suitable for substrate transfer or vertical device structures, the fabricated micro-LEDs on Si should have promising applications in the fields of high-resolution display and optical communication.

Polar-Induced Selective Epitaxial Growth of Multijunction Nanoribbons for High-Performance Optoelectronics.

Semiconductor heterostructures are basic building blocks for modern electronics and optoelectronics. However, it still remains a great challenge to combine different semiconductor materials in single nanostructures with tailored geometry and chemical composition. Here, a polar-induced selective epitaxial growth method is reported to alternately grow CdS and CdS xSe1- x heterostructure nanoribbons (NRs) side by side in the lateral direction, with the heterointerface (junction) number to be well controlled. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spatial-resolved μ-PL spectra are employed to characterize the heterostructure NRs, which indicate that the achieved NRs are high-quality heterostructures with sharp interfaces. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and femtosecond pump-probe characterizations further confirm the efficient charge-transfer process across the interfaces in the multijunction NRs. Photodetectors based on the achieved NRs are realized and systematically investigated, demonstrating junction number-dependent optoelectronic response behaviors. NRs with more junctions exhibit more superior device performances, reflecting the important roles of the high-quality interface regions. Based on this multijunction NRs device, high on-off ratio (107) and remarkable responsivity (1.5 × 105 A/W) are demonstrated, both of which represent the best results compared to the reported CdS, CdSe, and their heterostructures. These novel multijunction NRs may find broad applications in future integrated photonics and optoelectronics devices and systems.

Van der Waals epitaxial growth of vertically stacked Sb2Te3/MoS2 p–n heterojunctions for high performance optoelectronics

Two dimensional (2D) p–n heterostructures are demonstrated to be promising candidates for future integrated electronics and optoelectronics ascribing to their unique physical, optical and electrical properties. In this work, for the first time, we report the successful synthesis of high quality vertically stacked Sb2Te3/MoS2 heterostructures via van der Waals (vdW) epitaxial growth. Due to the p-type nature of Sb2Te3 and n-type nature of MoS2, the constructed Sb2Te3/MoS2 heterostructure-based devices can function as high performance rectifying diodes, and be further used as photodetectors and photovoltaics. As a result, the achieved p–n heterojunctions exhibit ultra-high current rectification ratio up to 106 and typical photon-to-electron conversion efficiency reaching 4.5%, both of which are much higher than all the previously reported 2D vdW heterojunctions grown by vapor deposition routes. Moreover, remarkable photoresponsivity (330 A/W) and fast photoresponse speed (<500 μs) are achieved, which also represent the highest values reported so far in similar systems. Combing the excellent electrical and optoelectrical properties, the achieved Sb2Te3/MoS2 heterostructures may find broad applications in future integrated electronics and optoelectronics devices and systems.

Au Nanoparticles-Decorated Surface Plasmon Enhanced ZnO Nanorods Ultraviolet Photodetector on Flexible Transparent Mica Substrate

An ultraviolet (UV) photodetector based on hydrothermally processed ZnO nanorods (ZnO NRs) decorated by gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) was demonstrated to exhibit extraordinary optoelectronic properties. Due the implementation of Au NPs, the UV responsivity and specific detectivity reached 70 A/W and 3.41 $\times$ 1012 cm Hz1/2 W−1, respectively, which were enhanced by approximately four times at an excitation wavelength of 365 nm compared with those of pristine ZnO NRs. Moreover, such photodetector shows good flexibility as well due to the mica substrate, which maintains almost constant performances under different bending radii of curvature and repeatable bending test more than 200 cycles. The photodetector also exhibits good transparency, giving it the potential of integration with other light photodetectors. In addition, a schematic band-diagram and the accompanying finite-difference time-domain analysis were performed to reveal the electron transfer and electric field distribution of ZnO NRs decorated with Au NPs. Our results revealed that the noble metal modified plasmon-enhanced ZnO NRs photodetector with high responsivity, low cost has a great potential for application in manufacturing flexible and transparent integrated optoelectronics.

Al-free cladding-layer blue laser diodes with a low aspect ratio in far-field beam pattern * * Project supported by the National Key R&D Program (Nos. 2017YFB0403100, 2017YFB0403101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61534007, 61404156, 61522407, 61604168, 61775230), the Key Frontier Scientific Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. QYZDB-SSW-JSC014), the Science and Technology Service Network

c-plane GaN-based blue laser diodes (LDs) were fabricated with Al-free cladding layers (CLs) and deepened etching depth of mesa structure, so the aspect ratio of the far-field pattern (FFP) of the laser beam can be reduced to as low as 1.7, which is nearly the same as conventional AlGaInP-based red LDs. By using GaN CLs, the radiation angle of the laser beam θ⊥ is only 10.1° in the direction perpendicular to the junction plane. After forming a deeply etched mesa, the beam divergence angle parallel to the junction plane of FFP, θ//, increases from 4.9° to 5.8°. After using the modified structure, the operation voltage of LD is effectively reduced by 2 V at an injection current of 50 mA, but the threshold current value increases. The etching damage may be one of the main reasons responsible for the increase of the threshold current.

High-speed and on-chip graphene blackbody emitters for optical communications by remote heat transfer

High-speed light emitters integrated on silicon chips can enable novel architectures for silicon-based optoelectronics, such as on-chip optical interconnects, and silicon photonics. However, conventional light sources based on compound semiconductors face major challenges for their integration with a silicon-based platform because of their difficulty of direct growth on a silicon substrate. Here we report ultra-high-speed (100-ps response time), highly integrated graphene-based on-silicon-chip blackbody emitters in the near-infrared region including telecommunication wavelength. Their emission responses are strongly affected by the graphene contact with the substrate depending on the number of graphene layers. The ultra-high-speed emission can be understood by remote quantum thermal transport via surface polar phonons of the substrates. We demonstrated real-time optical communications, integrated two-dimensional array emitters, capped emitters operable in air, and the direct coupling of optical fibers to the emitters. These emitters can open new routes to on-Si-chip, small footprint, and high-speed emitters for highly integrated optoelectronics and silicon photonics.

Light output improvement of GaN-based light-emitting diodes grown on Si (111) by a via-thin-film structure * * Project supported by the National Key R&D Program (Nos. 2016YFB0400100, 2016YFB0400104), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61534007, 61404156, 61522407, 61604168, 61775230), the Key Frontier Scientific Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. QYZDB-SSW-JSC014), the Science and Technology Service

This work reports the fabrication of via-thin-film light-emitting diode (via-TF-LED) to improve the light output power (LOP) of blue/white GaN-based LEDs grown on Si (111) substrates. The as-fabricated via-TF-LEDs were featured with a roughened n-GaN surface and the p-GaN surface bonded to a wafer carrier with a silver-based reflective electrode, together with an array of embedded n-type via pillar metal contact from the p-GaN surface etched through the multiple-quantum-wells (MQWs) into the n-GaN layer. When operated at 350 mA, the via-TF-LED gave an enhanced blue LOP by 7.8% and over 3.5 times as compared to the vertical thin-film LED (TF-LED) and the conventional lateral structure LED (LS-LED). After covering with yellow phosphor that converts some blue photons into yellow light, the via-TF-LED emitted an enhanced white luminous flux by 13.5% and over 5 times, as compared with the white TF-LED and the white LS-LED, respectively. The significant LOP improvement of the via-TF-LED was attributed to the elimination of light absorption by the Si (111) epitaxial substrate and the finger-like n-electrodes on the roughened emitting surface.

Giant Two‐Photon Absorption in Mixed Halide Perovskite CH3NH3Pb0.75Sn0.25I3 Thin Films and Application to Photodetection at Optical Communication Wavelengths

AbstractPhotodetection in the optical communication wavelength band (OCWB) is a key technique for data processing communications. Photodetectors with integrability, ease of fabrication, low cost, and excellent detection properties are favorable for practical applications. Metal halide perovskite thin films have exhibited intriguing optoelectronic properties. However, their relatively wide intrinsic band gaps indicate that direct photodetection in the infrared OCWB seems impossible. Here, for the first time, direct infrared photodetection covering the OCWB with a metal halide perovskite is demonstrated. Associated with an Sn‐component dependent band gap, a CH3NH3Pb0.75Sn0.25I3 perovskite thin film is fabricated, whose nonlinear two‐photon absorption can expand the optical response up to 1.8 µm. Two‐photon absorption is studied and a very large absorption coefficient of 1.15 cm kW−1 is measured, a value that is respectively 5 and 106 times larger than that of CH3NH3PbI3 thin films and halide perovskite bulk crystals. Based on this favorable performance, direct photodetection at 1535 nm in the C‐band of the OCWB and at 1064 nm is characterized. The realization of direct infrared photodetection in a metal halide perovskite provides a possible alternative in advanced integrated optoelectronics and electronics.

Composition-Modulated Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Lateral Heterostructures via Layer-Selected Atomic Substitution.

Composition-controlled growth of two-dimensional layered semiconductor heterostructures is crucially important for their applications in multifunctional integrated photonics and optoelectronics devices. Here, we report the realization of composition completely modulated layered semiconductor MoS2-MoS2(1-x)Se2x (0 < x < 1) lateral heterostructures via the controlled layer-selected atomic substitution of pregrown stacking MoS2, with a bilayer located at the center of a monolayer. Through controlling the reaction time, S at the monolayer MoS2 at the peripheral area can be selectively substituted by Se atoms at different levels, while the bilayer region at the center retains the original composition. Microstructure characterizations demonstrated the formation of lateral heterostructures with a sharp interface, with the composition at the monolayer area gradually modulated from MoS2 to MoSe2 and having high-quality crystallization at both the monolayer and the bilayer areas. Photoluminescence and Raman mapping studies exhibit the tunable optical properties only at the monolayer region of the as-grown heterostructures, which further demonstrates the realization of high-quality composition/bandgap modulated lateral heterostructures. This work offers an interesting and easy route for the development of high-quality layered semiconductor heterostructures for potential broad applications in integrated nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Fabrication of extremely thermal-stable GaN template on Mo substrate using double bonding and step annealing process**Project supported by the Guangdong Innovative Research Team Program (No. 2009010044), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2014M562233), the National Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong, China (No. 2015A030312011), and the Opened Fund of the State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics (No. IOSKL2014KF17).

A new layer transfer technique which comprised double bonding and a step annealing process was utilized to transfer the GaN epilayer from a sapphire substrate to a Mo substrate. Combined with the application of the thermal-stable bonding medium, the resulting two-inch-diameter GaN template showed extremely good stability under high temperature and low stress state. Moreover, no cracks and winkles were observed. The transferred GaN template was suitable for homogeneous epitaxial, thus could be used for the direct fabrication of vertical LED chips as well as power electron devices. It has been confirmed that the double bonding and step annealing technique together with the thermal-stable bonding layer could significantly improve the bonding strength and stress relief, finally enhancing the thermal stability of the transferred GaN template.

Experimental optimum design and luminescence properties of NaY(Gd)(MoO4)2:Er3+ phosphors**Project supported by Education Reform Fund of Dalian Maritime University, China (Grant No. 2015Y37), the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province, China (Grant Nos. 2015020190 and 2014025010), the Open Fund of the State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, China (Grant No. IOSKL2015KF27), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China

Three-factor orthogonal design (OD) of Er3+/Gd3+/T (calcination temperature) is used to optimize the luminescent intensity of NaY(Gd)(MoO4)2:Er3+ phosphor. Firstly, the uniform design (UD) is introduced to explore the doping concentration range of Er3+/Gd3+. Then OD and range analysis are performed based on the results of UD to obtain the primary and secondary sequence and the best combination of Er3+, Gd3+, and T within the experimental range. The optimum sample is prepared by the high temperature solid state method. Photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra of the optimum sample are detected. The intense green emissions (530 nm and 550 nm) are observed which originate from Er3+ 2H11/2→ 4I15/2 and 4S3/2→4I15/2, respectively. Thermal effect is investigated in the optimum NaY(Gd3+)(MoO4)2:Er3+ phosphors, and the green emission intensity decreases as temperature increases.

Plasmon-enhanced magneto-optical activity in a nanostructure with circle annular arrays

The optical properties and magneto-optical (MO) activity in a bilayer nanostructure consisting of a ferromagnetic dielectric film and a noble metal film perforated with circle annular arrays are investigated. Enhanced Faraday rotation peaks with opposite signs are found. Meanwhile, enhanced polar Kerr rotation with large reflectance is also obtained at the same wavelength. The peak positions of the MO rotations accompanied by large transmittance and reflectance can be efficiently tailored by changing the geometrical parameters and the filling medium. These findings are important for applications in highly integrated optoelectronics and multiple channel magneto-optical devices.

Migration characterization of Ga and In adatoms on dielectric surface in selective MOVPE**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61274039 and 51177175), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB301903), the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20110171110021), the International Sci. & Tech. Collaboration Program of China (Grant

Migration characterizations of Ga and In adatoms on the dielectric surface in selective metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) were investigated. In the typical MOVPE environment, the selectivity of growth is preserved for GaN, and the growth rate of GaN micro-pyramids is sensitive to the period of the patterned SiO2 mask. A surface migration induced model was adopted to figure out the effective migration length of Ga adatoms on the dielectric surface. Different from the growth of GaN, the selective area growth of InGaN on the patterned template would induce the deposition of InGaN polycrystalline particles on the patterned SiO2 mask with a long period. It was demonstrated with a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy that the In adatoms exhibit a shorter migration length on the dielectric surface.

High response Schottky ultraviolet photodetector formed by PEDOT:PSS transparent electrode contacts to Mg0.1Zn0.9O**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50972007), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB932703), the National Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Grant No. 60825407), and the Opened Fund of the State Key Laboratory on Integrated

In this paper, we report a Schottky ultraviolet photodetector based on poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) transparent electrode contacts to Mg0.1Zn0.9O. The I–V characteristic curves of the device are measured in the dark condition and under the illumination of a 340-nm UV light. The device shows a typical rectifying behavior with a current rectification ratio of 103 at ±2 V, which exhibits a good Schottky behavior. The photo-to-dark current ratio is high, which is 1×103 at −4 V. A peak response of 0.156 A/W at 340 nm is observed. The device also exhibits a wide response from 250 nm to 340 nm, with a response larger than 0.1 A/W. It covers the UV-B region (280 nm–320 nm), which makes the device very suitable for the detection of UV-B light.

In-situ wafer bowing measurements of GaN grown on Si (111) substrate by reflectivity mapping in metal organic chemical vapor deposition system**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61274039 and 51177175), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB301903), the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20110171110021), the International

In this work, the wafer bowing during growth can be in-situ measured by a reflectivity mapping method in the 3×2″ Thomas Swan close coupled showerhead metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. The reflectivity mapping method is usually used to measure the film thickness and growth rate. The wafer bowing caused by stresses (tensile and compressive) during the epitaxial growth leads to a temperature variation at different positions on the wafer, and the lower growth temperature leads to a faster growth rate and vice versa. Therefore, the wafer bowing can be measured by analyzing the discrepancy of growth rates at different positions on the wafer. Furthermore, the wafer bowings were confirmed by the ex-situ wafer bowing measurement. High-resistivity and low-resistivity Si substrates were used for epitaxial growth. In comparison with low-resistivity Si substrate, GaN grown on high-resistivity substrate shows a larger wafer bowing caused by the highly compressive stress introduced by compositionally graded AlGaN buffer layer. This transition of wafer bowing can be clearly in-situ measured by using the reflectivity mapping method.

Bandwidth improvement of high power uni-traveling-carrier photodiodes by reducing the series resistance and capacitance**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2012CB315605 and 2014CB340002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61176015, 61176059, 61210014, 61321004, and 61307024), and the Open Fund of State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, China (Grant Nos. IOSKL2012KF08 and IOSKL2014KF09).

A backside illuminated mesa-structure InGaAs/InP modified uni-traveling-carrier photodiode (MUTC-PD) with wide bandwidth and high saturation power is fabricated and investigated. The device structure is optimized to reduce the capacitance and resistance. For the 22-μm-diameter device, the maximum responsivity at 1.55 μm is 0.5 A/W, and the 3-dB cutoff frequency reaches up to 28 GHz. The output photocurrent at the 1-dB compression point is measured to be 54 mA at 25 GHz, with a corresponding output radio frequency (RF) power of up to 15.5 dBm. The saturation characteristics of the MUTC-PD are also verified by the electric field simulation, and electric field collapse is found to be the cause of the saturation phenomenon.