Towards optical communication on silicon chips

Our vision is to integrate light-emitting devices, based on hexagonal silicon-germanium (Hex-SiGe), with existing Si electronics and passive Si-photonics circuitry. This establishes a silicon-compatible technology platform, with full opto-electronic functionality. Silicon dominates the electronics industry for more than half a century.

However, silicon, germanium and SiGe-alloys are all indirect band gap semiconductors. Their inability to efficiently emit light has adversely shaped the semiconductor industry we know today. Accordingly, achieving efficient light emission from SiGe has been a holy grail in silicon technology for decades.

Hexagonal crystal phase SiGe (Hex-SiGe) recently emerged as a new direct bandgap semiconductor with excellent light emission capabilities.

Hex-SiGe will provide additional functionality like light generation (light emitting diode, laser), light amplification (semiconductor optical amplifier) and efficient light detection to silicon technology.

This project will focus on:•The growth of device quality Hex-SiGe on silicon-on-insulator (SOI). •Demonstration of opto-electronic functionality in Hex-SiGe, including a quantum well laser.

This new technology promises strongly improved performance in computing and sensing, while simultaneously reducing cost by mass production in existing silicon foundries.