An Electrically Driven, Ultrahigh-Speed, on-Chip Light Emitter Based on Carbon Nanotubes

The integration of high-speed light emitters on silicon chips is an important issue that must be resolved in order to realize on-chip or interchip optical interconnects. Here, we demonstrate the first electrically driven ultrafast carbon nanotube (CNT) light emitter based on blackbody radiation with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2014-06, Vol.14 (6), p.3277-3283
Main Authors: Mori, Tatsuya, Yamauchi, Yohei, Honda, Satoshi, Maki, Hideyuki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Blackbody
Carbon nanotubes
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Electronics
Emittance
Exact sciences and technology
High speed
Materials science
Nanocrystalline materials
Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization
Nanostructure
Nanotubes
Optical communication
Optical interconnects
Optoelectronic devices
Physics
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
Silicon
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Summary:The integration of high-speed light emitters on silicon chips is an important issue that must be resolved in order to realize on-chip or interchip optical interconnects. Here, we demonstrate the first electrically driven ultrafast carbon nanotube (CNT) light emitter based on blackbody radiation with a response speed (1–10 Gbps) that is more than 106 times higher than that of conventional incandescent emitters and is either higher than or comparable to that of light-emitting diodes or laser diodes. This high-speed response is explained by the extremely fast temperature response of the CNT film, which is dominated by the small heat capacity of the CNT film and its high heat dissipation to the substrate. Moreover, we experimentally demonstrate 140 ps width pulsed light generation and real-time optical communication. This CNT-based emitter with the advantages of ultrafast response speeds, a small footprint, and integration on silicon can enable novel architectures for optical interconnects, photonic, and optoelectronic integrated circuits.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/nl500693x