Fabrication and Analysis of Epitaxially Grown Ge $_{1-x}$ Sn $_x$ Microdisk Resonator With 20-nm Free-Spectral Range
TL;DR: In this article, a whispering gallery mode (WGM) microdisk resonator based on Ge1-xSnx grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was fabricated and characterized.
Abstract: In this work, a whispering gallery mode (WGM) microdisk resonator based on Ge1-xSnx grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was fabricated and characterized. Various process conditions and different Sn contents (4% and 1%) were explored to confirm the feasibility of Ge1-xSnx for microcavity device operation. Optical modes with wavelengths in the infrared (IR) range beyond 1550 nm were successfully confined in the devices fabricated with different diameters, and free-spectral ranges (FSRs) near 20 nm were obtained.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the transition from an indirect to a fundamental direct bandgap material will be discussed, and the most commonly used approaches, i.e., molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), will be reviewed in terms of crucial process parameters, structural as well as optical quality and employed precursor combinations including Germanium hydrides, Silicon hydride and a variety of Sn compounds like SnD4, SnCl4 or C6H5SnD3.
Abstract: In this review article, we address key material parameters as well as the fabrication and application of crystalline GeSn binary and SiGeSn ternary alloys. Here, the transition from an indirect to a fundamental direct bandgap material will be discussed. The main emphasis, however, is put on the Si–Ge–Sn epitaxy. The low solid solubility of α-Sn in Ge and Si of below 1 at.% along with the large lattice mismatch between α-Sn (6.489 A) and Ge (5.646 A) or Si (5.431 A) of about 15% and 20%, respectively, requires non-equilibrium growth processes. The most commonly used approaches, i.e. molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), will be reviewed in terms of crucial process parameters, structural as well as optical quality and employed precursor combinations including Germanium hydrides, Silicon hydrides and a variety of Sn compounds like SnD4, SnCl4 or C6H5SnD3. Special attention is devoted to the growth temperature window and growth rates being the most important growth parameters concerning the substitutional incorporation of Sn atoms into the Ge diamond lattice. Furthermore, the mainly CVD-driven epitaxy of high quality SiGeSn ternary alloys, allowing the decoupling of band engineering and lattice constant, is presented. Since achieving fundamental direct bandgap Sn-based materials strongly depends on the applied strain within the epilayers, ways to control and modify the strain are shown, especially the plastic strain relaxation of (Si)GeSn layers grown on Ge. Based on recently achieved improvements of the crystalline quality, novel low power and high mobility GeSn electronic and photonic devices have been developed and are reviewed in this paper. The use of GeSn as optically active gain or channel material with its lower and potentially direct bandgap compared to fundamentally indirect Ge (0.66 eV) and Si (1.12 eV) provides a viable solution to overcome the obstacles in both fields photonics and electronics. Moreover, the epitaxial growth of Sn-based semiconductors using CMOS compatible substrates on the road toward a monolithically integrated and efficient group IV light emitter is presented.
193 citations
TL;DR: The concept of direct band gap group IV materials offers a paradigm change for Si-photonics concerning the monolithic implementation of light emitters: the idea is to integrate fully compatible group IV material with equally favorable optical properties as the chemically incompatible group III-V-based systems.
Abstract: The concept of direct band gap group IV materials offers a paradigm change for Si-photonics concerning the monolithic implementation of light emitters: The idea is to integrate fully compatible group IV materials with equally favorable optical properties as the chemically incompatible group III-V-based systems The concept involves either mechanically applied strain on Ge or alloying of Ge with Sn and permits to drastically improve the insufficient radiative efficiency of Ge The favorable optical properties result from a modified band structure transformed from an indirect to a direct one The first demonstration of such a direct band gap laser, accomplished in GeSn, exemplifies the capability of this new concept These systems may permit a qualitative as well as a quantitative expansion of Si-photonics into traditional but also new areas of applications, provided they can be operated energy efficiently, under ambient conditions and integrated with current Si technologies This review aims to discuss the challenges along this path in terms of fabrication, characterization and fundamental understanding, and will elaborate on evoking opportunities of this new class of group IV-based laser materials
104 citations
TL;DR: A pseudomorphic Ge/Ge0.92Sn0.08/Ge quantum-well microdisk resonator on Ge/Si (001) as a route toward a compact GeSn-based laser on silicon is theoretically studied and experimentally demonstrated.
Abstract: We theoretically study and experimentally demonstrate a pseudomorphic Ge/Ge0.92Sn0.08/Ge quantum-well microdisk resonator on Ge/Si (001) as a route toward a compact GeSn-based laser on silicon. The structure theoretically exhibits many electronic and optical advantages in laser design, and microdisk resonators using these structures can be precisely fabricated away from highly defective regions in the Ge buffer using a novel etch-stop process. Photoluminescence measurements on 2.7 μm diameter microdisks reveal sharp whispering-gallery-mode resonances (Q > 340) with strong luminescence.
103 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that optical germanium-on-insulator (GeOI) substrates fabricated by the Smart Cut™ technology is a key feature for future Si-complementary metal oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) compatible laser demonstration.
Abstract: Lately, germanium based materials attract a lot of interest as they can overcome some limits inherent to standard Silicon Photonics devices and can be used notably in Mid-Infra-Red sensing applications. The quality of epitaxially grown intrinsic and doped materials is critical to reach the targeted performances. One of the main challenges in the field remains the fabrication of efficient group-IV laser sources compatible with the microelectronics industry, seen as an alternative to the complexity of integration of III-V lasers on Si. The difficulties come from the fact that the group-IV semiconductor bandgap has to be transformed from indirect to direct, using high tensile strains or by alloying germanium with tin. Here, we review recent progresses on critical germanium-based photonic components such as waveguides, photodiodes and modulators and discuss the latest advances towards germanium-based lasers. We show that novel optical germanium-On-Insulator (GeOI) substrates fabricated by the Smart Cut™ technology is a key feature for future Si - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) - compatible laser demonstration. This review hints at a future photonics platform based on germanium and Silicon.
60 citations
TL;DR: Electroluminescence peaks were observed near 1550 nm and the energy around this wavelength corresponds to that emitted from direct recombination at the Γ-valley of germanium.
Abstract: Group-IV materials for monolithic integration with silicon optoelectronic systems are being extensively studied. As a part of efforts, light emission from germanium has been pursued with the objective of evolving germanium into an efficient light source for optical communication systems. In this study, we demonstrate room-temperature electroluminescence from germanium in an Al0.3Ga0.7As/Ge heterojunction light-emitting diode without any complicated manipulation for alternating material properties of germanium. Electroluminescence peaks were observed near 1550 nm and the energy around this wavelength corresponds to that emitted from direct recombination at the Γ-valley of germanium.
12 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: A high-Q SPP whispering-gallery microcavity that is made by coating the surface of a high- Q silica microresonator with a thin layer of a noble metal is demonstrated and Q factors of 1,376 ± 65 can be achieved in the near infrared for surface-plasmonic whispering- gallery modes at room temperature.
Abstract: Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are electron density waves excited at the interfaces between metals and dielectric materials (1). Owing to their highly localized electromagnetic fields, they may be used for the transport and manipulation of photons on subwavelength scales (2-9). In particular, plasmonic resonant cavities represent an application that could exploit this field compression to create ultrasmall-mode-volume devices. A key figure of merit in this regard is the ratio of cavity quality factor, Q (related to the dissipation rate of photons confined to the cavity), to cavity mode volume, V (refs 10, 11). However, plasmonic cavity Q factors have so far been limited to values less than 100 both for visible and near-infrared wavelengths (12-16). Significantly, such values are far below the theoretically achievable Q factors for plasmonic resonant structures. Here we demonstrate a high-Q SPP whispering-gallery microcavity that is made by coating the surface of a high-Q silica microresonator with a thin layer of a noble metal. Using this structure, Q factors of 1,376 ± 65 can be achieved in the near infrared for surface-plasmonic whispering-gallery modes at room temperature. This nearly ideal value, which is close to the theoretical metal-loss-limited Q factor, is attributed to the suppression and minimization of radiation and scattering losses that are made possible by the geometrical structure and the fabrication method. The SPP eigenmodes, as well as the dielectric eigenmodes, are confined within the whispering-gallery microcavity and accessed evanescently using a single strand of low-loss, tapered optical waveguide (17, 18). This coupling scheme provides a convenient way of selectively exciting and probing confined SPP eigenmodes. Up to 49.7 per cent of input power is coupled by phase-matching control between the microcavity SPP and the tapered fibre eigenmodes.
464 citations
TL;DR: This Carousel trap, caused by attractive optical gradient forces, interfacial interactions, and the circulating momentum flux, considerably enhances the rate of transport to the sensing region, thereby overcoming limitations posed by diffusion on such small area detectors.
Abstract: Individual nanoparticles in aqueous solution are observed to be attracted to and orbit within the evanescent sensing ring of a Whispering Gallery Mode micro-sensor with only microwatts of driving power. This Carousel trap, caused by attractive optical gradient forces, interfacial interactions, and the circulating momentum flux, considerably enhances the rate of transport to the sensing region, thereby overcoming limitations posed by diffusion on such small area detectors. Resonance frequency fluctuations, caused by the radial Brownian motion of the nanoparticle, reveal the radial trapping potential and the nanoparticle size. Since the attractive forces draw particles to the highest evanescent intensity at the surface, binding steps are found to be uniform.
250 citations
"Fabrication and Analysis of Epitaxi..." refers background in this paper
...…used for conventional dielectric resonators in advanced radio frequency (RF) circuits, optical communication systems, and biosensing devices because of their simple device structure, high quality factor, and the possibility of both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) mode…...
[...]
TL;DR: In this article, the Rayleigh-Ritz method and the finite element method nongenerating spurious solutions are employed for analysis of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in cylindrical single-crystal anisotropic dielectric resonators.
Abstract: The Rayleigh-Ritz method and the finite element method nongenerating spurious solutions are employed for analysis of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in cylindrical single-crystal anisotropic dielectric resonators. These methods allow accurate computation of the resonant frequencies, the Q-factors (depending on the dielectric and on the conductor losses), and the electromagnetic field distributions for all WGMs in the presence of additional elements like metal shields, MIC substrate, or supports. Different families of modes are studied both theoretically and experimentally. The mode coupling phenomenon is investigated. A WGM single-crystal quartz resonator is presented having an unloaded Q-factor greater than 30000 at about 100 GHz, including radiation and dielectric losses. >
88 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the optical energy gap of Ge1−xSnx alloys has been determined from transmittance measurements, using a fast-Fourier-transform infrared interferometer, showing that the change from indirect to direct band gap occurs at a lower critical Sn concentration than the value predicted from the virtual crystal approximation, tight binding, and pseudopotential models.
Abstract: The optical energy gap of Ge1−xSnx alloys has been determined from transmittance measurements, using a fast-Fourier-transform infrared interferometer. Our results show that the change from indirect to direct band gap occurs at a lower critical Sn concentration (xc) than the value predicted from the virtual crystal approximation, tight binding, and pseudopotential models. However, a close agreement between the experimental results and the predictions with deformation potential theory is observed. The concentration xc, which is theoretically expected to be 0.09, actually it is observed to lie between 0.10
80 citations
"Fabrication and Analysis of Epitaxi..." refers background in this paper
...To ease integration with silicon electronics, group IV species and their alloys are attracting great attention as good candidates for the active material [5]....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the behaviors of the carrier mobility and concentration of the undoped Ge1-xSnx layers epitaxially grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates.
Abstract: We have investigated the behaviors of the carrier mobility and concentration of the undoped Ge1-xSnx layers epitaxially grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Hall measurement revealed the conduction of holes excited from acceptor levels related to vacancy defects whose concentration was as high as 1018 cm-3 in Ge1-xSnx layers. The temperature dependences of the carrier mobility and concentration in the valence band was estimated by reducing the parallel conduction component in the impurity band. The incorporation of Sn at a content lower than 4.0% hardly degraded the hole mobility of heteroepitaxial Ge1-xSnx layers. In contrast, the mobility of the Ge1-xSnx layers was improved by reducing the carrier concentration of the Ge1-xSnx layers by Sn incorporation compared with that of the Ge layer formed under the same growth and annealing conditions. This result suggests that the incorporation of Sn into Ge leads to reducing the hole concentration of the electrically active vacancy defects due to the formation of Sn-vacancy pairs.
79 citations