“Epitaxial integration of dissimilar semiconductors for infrared optoelectronics”
Integrating dissimilar semiconductors on a single crystal platform can power the next generation of electronics and photonics applications. In such a platform, semiconductors like zincblende-structured III-V and rocksalt-structured IV-VI materials bring exciting new properties to the table and leverage the scale and functionality of conventional silicon technology. The synthesis of high-quality semiconductor thin films while mediating this dissimilarity, however, is quite the materials science challenge. These very differences in properties also lead to unusual interfaces and crystal defects such as dislocations that severely degrade device performance. I will discuss how we continue to understand why dislocations are bad for integrated telecom lasers on silicon using new microscopy and microanalysis tools, and talk about our progress in engineering defect tolerance in such devices using III-V (InAs) quantum dots. I will also present recent results from integrating mid-infrared IV-VI (PbSnSe) light emitters with application in sensors that appear to be naturally defect tolerant.