Silicon-based lasers/detectors have long been desired for owing to the possibility of monolithic integration of photonics with high-speed Si electronics and the aspiration of broadening the reach of Si technology by expanding its functionalities well beyond electronics. The goal of this project is to develop high quality SiGeSn material and also use it to demonstrate high performance optoelectronic devices. The research plan includes growth of mid-IR SiGeSn materials and material characterization as well as development of GeSn mid-IR detectors and lasers. The innovative claims include: i) using novel techniques such as Plasma Enhancement and Atomic Hydrogen Enhancement to study the material growth technique; ii) using commercial CVD reactor for device quality SiGeSn growth, iii) high performance GeSn based photodetectors with high responsivity, high gain-bandwidth product, low dark current, CMOS compatibility, and extended spectra response, iv) GeSn based lasers transforming the new active direct band gap material to the all group-IV inter-band lasers on Si. The work will create significant impacts to the scientific community by enabling the so-called Si optoelectronics superchip, to extend the current Si-photonics wavelength range to mid-infrared, and to enable numerous commercial applications in telecom, consuming electronics, and sensing.
Benefit:CVD growth techniques for future SiGeSn material growth; Devices such as LEDs, lasers, and detectors with applications in telecom, consuming electronics, and sensing.
