Mid-infrared integrated optoelectronics on silicon

信息技术的全球加速产生了对经济高效的宽带、高密度和高速数据互连的迫切需求，以实现高性能、高能效的信号处理和计算。这种不断增长的需求将迫使传输距离缩小，从而推动电气互连的极限，这限制了体系结构，并加剧了由于迫使热处理器越来越紧密而带来的散热挑战。通过硅光子平台的光学互连最近被认为是克服这一技术瓶颈的关键。作为光电转换器的集成光源是硅光子学的关键部件之一。片上光源是实现更高的集成密度、更高的可扩展性和更好的能效的关键。然而，由于硅是一种间接带隙半导体，因此发光性能较差一直是硅光子器件发展的主要障碍。为了克服这些限制，本项目致力于通过开发新兴的硅-锗-锡(SiGeSn)半导体来开发第四类光源。该项目将利用这样一个事实，即可以在硅晶片上生长SiGeSn型半导体，以实现可扩展的、成本效益高的硅光子器件。该项目将引入这些新兴的半导体来设计和实现三种不可或缺的发光器件，这些器件工作在2-5微米的波长范围内，为芯片间通信提供了一种经济高效的替代方案。随着重要的有机分子和气体在这一波长范围内表现出吸收带，开发这些中红外设备还将创造连接电子和生物和化学传感的深远的新机会。这一新颖的发光器件家族将受益于与互补金属氧化物半导体(CMOS)工艺的兼容性，从而充分利用当前的微电子和光电子技术。

The global acceleration of the information technology creates pressing needs for cost-effective broadband, high-density, and high-speed data interconnections for high-performance, energy-efficient signal processing and computing. This increasing demand will push the limits of the electrical interconnects by forcing the transmission distance to shrink, which limits architectures and exacerbates heat dissipation challenges as a result of forcing hot processors closer and closer together. Optical interconnections via silicon photonic platforms have recently been recognized as critical to overcome this technological bottleneck. One of the key components of silicon photonics is the integrated light source which serves as the electrical to optical converter. The on-chip light sources are crucial to achieve a higher integration density, higher scalability, and a better energy efficiency. However, the fact that Si is an indirect bandgap semiconductor and thus a poor light emitter has been a major hurdle facing the development of silicon photonics.To circumvent these limitations, this project focuses on developing group IV light sources by exploiting the emerging silicon-germanium-tin (SiGeSn) semiconductors. The project will capitalize on the fact that SiGeSn semiconductors can be grown on silicon wafers to achieve scalable, cost-effective Si photonic devices. The project will introduce these emerging semiconductors to design and implement three indispensable light emitting devices operating in the wavelength range of 2-5 µm, which provides a cost-effective alternative for inter-chip communications. Developing these mid-infrared devices will also create far-reaching new opportunities to interface electronics and biological and chemical sensing as important organic molecules and gases exhibit absorption bands in this wavelength range. This novel family of light emitting devices will benefit from the compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processing leading to a full exploitation of the current microelectronic and optoelectronic technologies.