Monolithic integration of AlGaInP laser diodes on SiGe∕Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

• Published in: Journal of applied physics 2006-07, Vol.100 (1)
• Main Authors: Kwon, O., Boeckl, J. J., Lee, M. L., Pitera, A. J., Fitzgerald, E. A., Ringel, S. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS; CURRENT DENSITY; DENSITY; DISLOCATIONS; GALLIUM COMPOUNDS; GERMANIUM SILICIDES; HETEROJUNCTIONS; INDIUM COMPOUNDS; INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; INTEGRATED CIRCUITS; MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY; SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; SUBSTRATES; TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K; THRESHOLD CURRENT
• ISSN: 0021-8979; 1089-7550
• DOI: 10.1063/1.2209068

Room temperature operation of visible AlGaInP laser diodes epitaxially integrated on Si was demonstrated. Compressively strained laser heterostructures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on low dislocation density SiGe∕Si substrates, where the threading dislocation density of the top relaxed Ge layers was measured in the range of 2×106cm−2. A threshold current density of Jth∼1.65kA∕cm2 for the as-cleaved, gain-guided AlGaInP laser grown on SiGe∕Si was obtained at the peak emission wavelength of 680nm under pulsed mode current injection. These results show that not only can high quality AlGaInP materials grown by MBE be achieved on Si via relaxed SiGe interlayers, but the prototype demonstration of laser diode operation on Si illustrates that very defect sensitive optoelectronics in the III-P system can indeed be integrated with Si substrates by heteroepitaxial methods.