Towards The First Silicon Laser

Silicon, the leading material in microelectronics during the last four decades, also promises to be the key material in the future. Despite many claims that silicon technology has reached fundamental limits, the performance of silicon microelectronics continues to improve steadily. The same holds for almost all the applications for which Si was considered to be unsuitable. The main exception to this positive trend is the silicon laser, which has not been demonstrated to date. The main reason for this comes from a fundamental limitation related to the indirect nature of the Si band-gap. In the recent past, many different approaches have been taken to achieve this goal: dislocated silicon, extremely pure silicon, silicon nanocrystals, porous silicon, Er doped Si-Ge, SiGe alloys and multiquantum wells, SiGe quantum dots, SiGe quantum cascade structures, shallow impurity centers in silicon and Er doped silicon. All of these are abundantly illustrated in the present book.

This book gives a fascinating picture of the state-of-the-art in silicon photonics and a perspective on what can be expected in the near future. It is composed of a selected number of reviews authored by world leaders in the field and is written from both academic and industrial viewpoints. An in-depth discussion of the route towards fully integrated silicon photonics is presented. This book will be useful not only to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and engineers but also to graduate students who are interested in the fields of microphotonics and optoelectronics.

Integrated Lasers on Silicon provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art use of lasers on silicon for photonic integration. The authors demonstrate the need for efficient laser sources on silicon, motivated by the development of on-board/on-chip optical interconnects and the different integration schemes available. The authors include detailed descriptions of Group IV-based lasers, followed by a presentation of the results obtained through the bonding approach (hybrid III-V lasers). The monolithic integration of III-V semiconductor lasers are explored, concluding with a discussion of the different kinds of cavity geometries benchmarked with respect to their potential integration on silicon in an industrial environment. Features a clear description of the advantages, drawbacks, and challenges of laser integration on silicon Serves as a staple reference in the general field of silicon photonics Focuses on the promising developments of hybrid and monolithic III-V lasers on silicon, previously unreviewed Discusses the different kinds of cavity geometries benchmarked with respect to their potential integration on silicon in an industrial environment

The term “hybrid silicon laser” refers to a laser that has a silicon waveguide and a III–V material that are in close optical contact. In this structure the optical confinement can be easily transferred from one material to the other and intermediate modes exist for which the light is contained in both materials simultaneously. In hybrid silicon lasers, the optical gain is provided by the electrically pumped III–V material and the optical cavity is ultimately formed by the silicon waveguide. This type of laser can be heterogeneously integrated with silicon components that have superior performance compared to III–V components. These lasers can be fabricated in high volumes as components of complex photonic integrated circuits, largely with CMOS-compatible processes. These traits are expected to allow for highly complex, non-traditional photonic integrated circuits with very high yields and relatively low cost of manufacturing. In this chapter we discuss the theory of hybrid silicon lasers, wafer bonding techniques, examples of experimental results, examples of system demonstrations based on hybrid silicon lasers, and prospects for future devices.

A fascinating insight into the state-of-the-art in silicon microphotonics and on what we can expect in the near future. The book presents an overview of the current understanding of getting light from silicon. It concentrates mainly on low dimensional silicon structures, like quantum dots, wires and wells, but covers also alternative approaches like porous silicon and the doping of silicon with rare-earths. The emphasis is on the experimental and theoretical achievements concerning the optoelectronic properties of confined silicon structures obtained during recent years. Silicon based photonic crystals are in particular considered. An in depth discussion of the route towards a silicon laser is presented.

Nanoscale materials are showing great promise in various optoelectronics applications, especially the fast-developing fields of optical communication and optical computers. With silicon as the leading material for microelectronics, the integration of optical functions into silicon technology is a very important challenge. This book concentrates on

The creation of affordable high speed optical communications using standard semiconductor manufacturing technology is a principal aim of silicon photonics research. This would involve replacing copper connections with optical fibres or waveguides, and electrons with photons. With applications such as telecommunications and information processing, light detection, spectroscopy, holography and robotics, silicon photonics has the potential to revolutionise electronic-only systems. Providing an overview of the physics, technology and device operation of photonic devices using exclusively silicon and related alloys, the book includes: Basic Properties of Silicon Quantum Wells, Wires, Dots and Superlattices Absorption Processes in Semiconductors Light Emitters in Silicon Photodetectors , Photodiodes and Phototransistors Raman Lasers including Raman Scattering Guided Lightwaves Planar Waveguide Devices Fabrication Techniques and Material Systems Silicon Photonics: Fundamentals and Devices outlines the basic principles of operation of devices, the structures of the devices, and offers an insight into state-of-the-art and future developments.

An extraordinary combination of material science, manufacturing processes, and innovative thinking spurred the development of SiGe heterojunction devices that offer a wide array of functions, unprecedented levels of performance, and low manufacturing costs. While there are many books on specific aspects of Si heterostructures, the Silicon Heterostructure Handbook: Materials, Fabrication, Devices, Circuits, and Applications of SiGe and Si Strained-Layer Epitaxy is the first book to bring all aspects together in a single source. Featuring broad, comprehensive, and in-depth discussion, this handbook distills the current state of the field in areas ranging from materials to fabrication, devices, CAD, circuits, and applications. The editor includes "snapshots" of the industrial state-of-the-art for devices and circuits, presenting a novel perspective for comparing the present status with future directions in the field. With each chapter contributed by expert authors from leading industrial and research institutions worldwide, the book is unequalled not only in breadth of scope, but also in depth of coverage, timeliness of results, and authority of references. It also includes a foreword by Dr. Bernard S. Meyerson, a pioneer in SiGe technology. Containing nearly 1000 figures along with valuable appendices, the Silicon Heterostructure Handbook authoritatively surveys materials, fabrication, device physics, transistor optimization, optoelectronics components, measurement, compact modeling, circuit design, and device simulation.