硅基光源的研究进展

随着人们对大容量、高速和低成本的信息传播的要求越来越迫切, 近年来硅基光电子学得以蓬勃发展, 但硅基光源一直没有得到真正的解决, 成为制约硅基光电子学发展的瓶颈. 硅的间接带隙本质给高效硅基光源的实现带来很大困难, 实用化的硅基激光是半导体科学家长期奋斗的目标. 本文分别介绍了硅基发光材料、硅基发光二极管和硅基激光的研究进展, 最后总结了目前各种硅基光源面临的问题和未来的发展方向.     

基于直接胶体晶体刻蚀技术的高度有序纳米硅阵列的尺寸及形貌控制

以自组装单层胶体小球阵列为掩模，采用直接胶体晶体刻蚀技术在硅表面制备二维有序尺寸可控的纳米结构.在样品制备过程中，首先通过自组装法在硅表面制备了直径200nm的单层聚苯乙烯(PS)胶体小球的二维有序阵列；然后对样品直接进行反应离子刻蚀(RIE)，以氧气为气源，利用氧等离子体对聚苯乙烯小球和对硅的选择性刻蚀作用，通过改变刻蚀时间，制备出不同尺寸的PS胶体小球的有序单层阵列；接着以此二维PS胶体单层膜为掩模，以四氟化碳为气源对样品进行刻蚀；最后去除胶体球后得到二维有序的硅柱阵列.SEM和AFM的测量结果表明：改变氧等离子体对胶体球的刻蚀时间和四氟化碳对硅的刻蚀时间，可以控制硅柱的尺寸以及形貌，而硅柱阵列的周期取决于原始胶体球的直径. 关键词： 胶体晶体刻蚀 纳米硅柱阵列     

光子晶体对nc-Ge/Si岛发光增强的模拟

在Si基集成光电子学的发展中,高效的Si基光源是人们不懈追求的目标。但是Si材料的间接带隙特性导致其发光效率低,更谈不上受激发射。于是人们探索了多种Si基材料体系来提高Si材料的发光效率,并在不同程度上取得了重要的进展。在众多的Si基发光材料体系中,Ge/Si量子点材料,不仅生长工艺与标准的CMOS工艺有很好的兼容性,而且发光波长能够覆盖重要的光通信波段即1.3~1.55μm,因此成为实现Si基发光器件的重要途径之一。但是目前这种材料的发光效率仍很低,所以提高其发光效率自然成为人们关注的焦点。如果将光子晶体引入到nc-Ge/Si材料中,它不仅可以改变材料本身的自发发射特性,而且可以改变发射的光子的提取效率,从而使材料的发光效率得到增强。提出了在Ge/Si量子点材料中引入光子晶体结构来提高其发光效率,包括光子晶体点缺陷腔结构和带边模式工作的完整光子晶体结构,并从理论上分析了发光效率提高的原理。针对发光波长在1.5μm附近的材料结构,模拟出了相应的光子晶体的结构参数。从模拟结果可以看出,对于缺陷腔的光子晶体结构,采用单点缺陷微腔很好地实现了单模运作,但是微腔内有源材料的体积很小,因此得到的发光效率很低。而采用耦合缺陷腔的结构和H₂腔都增加了腔内有源区的体积。但是耦合腔与H₂腔相比,谐振腔模减少,主谐振模式的峰值强度增加,更容易实现单模发光。因而更适用于提高nc-Ge/Si的发光效率。而带边模式工作的光子晶体结构,尺寸较大,不需引入缺陷,工艺上更容易实现。     

Si-based two-dimensional photonic crystals coupled to one-dimensional Bragg mirrors

Planar two-dimensional photonic crystals can be combined with a one-dimensional Bragg mirror to control the quality factor and out-of-plane coupling of optical Bloch modes. We have investigated the optical properties of such structures fabricated on silicon. The photonic crystals are fabricated in the upper Si layer deposited on top of quarter-wave thick SiO₂-polycrystalline Si layers. The optical properties are probed by the room-temperature photoluminescence of Ge/Si self-assembled islands as an internal source. We show that an enhancement of the quality factor can be obtained by controlling the thickness of the silicon upper layer in which the two-dimensional photonic crystal is etched and by controlling the air filling factor of the photonic crystal. Quality factors of 2200 around 1100 nm are obtained by this method for defect-free photonic crystals with a square lattice pattern. The experimental results are supported by three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations of the radiated modes for the investigated structures.     

Effect of photonic crystal structure on the nonlinear optical anisotropy of birefringent porous silicon

Anisotropic photonic crystal structures consisting of birefringent porous silicon layers with alternating porosity were fabricated. The in-plane birefringence formed as a result of anisotropic etching in Si(110) results in unique multilayered structures with two distinct photonic bandgaps for orthogonal light polarizations. Nonlinear optical studies based on the third-harmonic generation from these structures demonstrate variation in the symmetry of the nonlinear optical response.     

a-Si:H based two-dimensional photonic crystals

We describe the fabrication processes of silicon-based two-dimensional photonic crystals (2D-PCs) with a photonic band gap in the near-IR range. The procedures involve electron beam lithography followed by an anisotropic etching step of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Micrometric and submicrometric arrays of cylindrical holes are transferred using a poly-methylmethacrylate resist layer as a mask. A careful comparison between standard parallel plate reactive ion etching and inductively coupled plasma etching techniques is performed, aimed at obtaining periodic structures with high aspect ratio and good profile sharpness.     

HfO_2-based ferroelectric modulator of terahertz waves with graphene metamaterial

Tunable modulations of terahertz waves in a graphene/ferroelectric-layer/silicon hybrid structure are demonstrated at low bias voltages. The modulation is due to the creation/elimination of an extra barrier in Si layer in response to the polarization in the ferroelectric Si:HfO_2 layer. Considering the good compatibility of HfO_2 with the Si-based semiconductor process, the highly tunable characteristics of the graphene metamaterial device under ferroelectric effect open up new avenues for graphene-based high performance integrated active photonic devices compatible with the silicon technology.     

Model of silicon carbide formation on porous substrates

The formation of thin silicon carbide layers as a result of solid-phase processes is related to the evolution of nanoscale porosity and chemical reactions on pore surfaces. Numerical experiments, which simulate blistering under the action of Xe+ ions in the metal-insulator (Mo/Si) bilayer make it possible to establish the relationship between the porosity parameters and layer stresses and the irradiation conditions. Similar patterns in the formation of defects (pores and cracks) in crystalline silicon characterize its interaction with carbon dioxide when silicon carbide is formed. The calculated characteristics of the nucleation in the Mo/Si bilayers are analyzed to optimize the solid-phase epitaxy of silicon carbide.     

Study on the thermal isolation properties of porous silicon photonic crystal

The thermal isolation properties of porous silicon photonic crystal structures have been designed and discussed theoretically. Excellent thermal isolation properties can be obtained on such a porous silicon photonic crystal, even better than that of porous silicon with high porosity. Due to the excellent thermal isolation properties of the porous silicon photonic crystal structures, they can be used as the thermal isolation substrates in infrared detectors     

生长周期对有机金属化学气相沉积法制备SiO2-InP光子晶体的影响

有机金属化学气相沉积(MOCVD)方法在人工蛋白石空隙中填充了磷化铟(InP)晶体以改变这类材料的光学行为,在选择了InP的生长条件的基础上进行了周期生长试验。利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和紫外可见光谱(UV-Vis)对人工蛋白石晶体及其填充InP后的形貌和反射谱特性进行了分析。结果发现,采用周期生长方式有利于InP在模板空隙中的填充,且在反应时间相同的条件下,反应周期数越多,InP在空隙中的填充率越高,填充率增加反过来增大了二氧化硅球和空隙之间的折射率差,从而可控地对所制备光子晶体光子带隙进行调制。实验表明InP具有较好的生长质量,此项研究为制备三维InP光子晶体打下了基础。     

Design of a nanoscale silicon laser

The recent observation of optical gain from silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂ opens an opportunity to develop a nanoscale silicon-based laser. However, the challenge remains to design and develop a laser architecture using CMOS-compatible materials. In this paper we present two designs for a waveguide laser in which silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂ are used as the optical gain media. One design employs a SiO₂ membrane containing encapsulated Si nanocrystals. Preliminary calculations given here show that a highly resonant laser cavity can be produced in a SiO₂ membrane using sub-wavelength structures. This photonic crystal architecture, used to guide and contain the light, can be combined with a gain medium of optically active Si nanocrystals synthesized in the SiO₂ membrane using ion implantation/thermal annealing to produce a Si-based laser. The laser cavity dimensions can be matched to the near-infrared wavelengths where optical gain has been observed from Si nanocrystals. The second design utilizes silicon nanocrystals embedded in a distributed-feedback laser cavity fabricated in SiO₂. Lasing action over a broad wavelength range centered at ∼770 nm should be possible in both of these configurations. Received: 20 December 2002 / Accepted: 7 January 2003 / Published online: 11 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-434/982-2037, E-mail: supriya@virginia.edu     

Diffractive structures holographically recorded in amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films

We propose and demonstrate the direct recording of submicrometer relief gratings in amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a -C:H) films by reactive ion etching (RIE) for use as diffractive optical components. The high refractive index of this film and its transparency in the IR make such structures promising candidates for IR-transmission diffractive optical components. The structures are holographically recorded in photoresist and then transferred to a thin aluminum layer that is used as a mask for RIE of the a -C:H films. The diffraction measurements of the structures recorded in these films demonstrated the feasibility of using the materials as diffractive optical components.     

Modeling of the optical properties of porous silicon photonic crystals in the visible spectral range

Optical devices based on photonic crystals are of great interest because they can be efficiently used in laser physics and biosensing. Photonic crystals allow one to control the propagation of electromagnetic waves and to change the emission characteristics of luminophores embedded into photonic structures. One of the most interesting materials for developing one-dimensional photonic crystals is porous silicon. However, an important problem in application of this material is the control of the refractive index of layers by changing their porosity, as well as the refractive index dispersion. In addition, it is important to have the possibility of modeling the optical properties of structures to choose precisely select the fabrication parameters and produce one-dimensional photonic crystals with prescribed properties. In order to solve these problems, we used a mathematical model based on the transfer matrix method, using the Bruggeman model, and on the dispersion of silicon refractive index. We fabricated microcavities by electrochemical etching of silicon, with parameters determined by the proposed model, and measured their reflection spectra. The calculated results showed good agreement with experimental data. The model proposed allowed us to achieve a microcavity Q-factor of 160 in the visible region.     

Silicon nanotips formed by self-assembled Au nanoparticle mask

The Au nanoparticle monolayer is formed by self-assembly technology on the Si substrates terminated with different functional groups. Silicon nanotips were fabricated by a self-assembled gold colloidal particle monolayer as an etch mask. The silicon nanotips with high density and uniformity in height and shape were obtained using reactive ion etching (RIE). The Si nanotips on the surface of the 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS)-treated Si substrate are less-ordered array and uniformity than 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS)-treated Si substrate at the same etching conditions. The ordered array and uniformity of Si nanotips on the APTMS-modified Si substrate was improved through heat-treatment. This result is implied the different functional groups on the Si surfaces could affect the formation of the Si nanostructures during RIE process. The uniformly nanotip pattern with height of >20 nm is obtained on the etched nanoparticle-coated Si substrate. This method can be applied to patterning a wide variety of thin film materials into tip arrays.     

Electro-optic effects induced by the built-in electric field in a {001}-cut silicon crystal

Pockel's effect and optical rectification induced by the built-in electric field in the space charge region of a silicon surface layer are demonstrated in a {001}-cut high-resistance silicon crystal. The half-wave voltage is about203 V, deduced by Pockel's effect. The ratio X~(2)zxxX~(2)zzz is calculated to be about 0.942 according to optical rectification. Our comparison with the Kerr signal shows that Pockel's signal is much stronger. This indicates that these effects are so considerable that they should be taken into account when designing silicon-based photonic devices.     

Surface texturing of Si, porous Si and TiO2 by laser ablation

Excimer laser ablation at 308 nm has been used to texture the surfaces of a variety of materials of interest for optoelectronic and biotechnological applications. Using a range of pre- and post-processing methods, we are able to produce nano-, micro- and meso-scale features over large areas rapidly in materials such as crystalline Si, porous silicon and TiO₂. Texturing of porous silicon leads to the growth of crystalline dendritic structures, which distinguishes them dramatically from the conical pillars formed from crystalline silicon. Regular arrays of Si microdots are formed by irradiating a Si surface pre-covered with a Cr thin film grating. Nano-crystalline porous TiO₂ films are easily ablated or compacted with laser irradiation. However, at low enough laser fluence, surface roughening without complete loss of porosity is possible.     

Atomic force microscopy investigation of surface roughness generated between SiO2 micro-pits in CHF3/Ar plasma

The present paper investigates the surface roughness generated by reactive ion etching (RIE) on the location between silicon dioxide (SiO₂) micro-pits structures. The micro-pit pattern on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) mask was created by an electron beam lithography tool. By using PMMA as a polymer resist mask layer for pattern transfer in RIE process, the carbon (C) content in etching process is increased, which leads to decrease of F/C ratio and causes domination of polymerization reactions. This leads to high surface roughness via self-organized nanostructure features generated on SiO₂ surface which was analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. The etching chemistry of CHF₃ plasma on PMMA masking layer and SiO₂ is analyzed to explain the polymerization. The surface root-mean-square (RMS) roughness below 1 nm was achieved by decreasing the RF power to 150 W and process pressure lower than 10 mTorr.     

Optical properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals obtained by micromatchining silicon (a review)

The theoretical and experimental investigations of photonic band gaps in one-dimensional photonic crystals created by micromatchining silicon, which have been performed by the author as part of his doctoral dissertation, are presented. The most important result of the work is the development of a method of modeling photonic crystals based on photonic band gap maps plotted in structure–property coordinates, which can be used with any optical materials and in any region of electromagnetic radiation, and also for nonperiodic structures. This method made it possible to realize the targeted control of the optical contrast of photonic crystals and to predict the optical properties of optical heterostructures and three-component and composite photonic crystals. The theoretical findings were experimentally implemented using methods of micromatchining silicon, which can be incorporated into modern technological lines for the production of microchips. In the IR spectra of a designed and a fabricated optical heterostructure (a composite photonic crystal), extended bands with high reflectivities were obtained. In a Si-based three-component photonic crystal, broad transmission bands and photonic band gaps in the middle IR region have been predicted and experimentally demonstrated for the first time. Si–liquid crystal periodic structures with electric-field tunable photonic band-gap edges have been investigated. The one-dimensional photonic crystals developed based on micromatchining silicon can serve as a basis for creating components of optical processors, as well as highly sensitive chemical and biological sensors in a wide region of the IR spectrum (from 1 to 20 μm) for lab-on-a-chip applications.     

Two-dimensional photonic crystals with pure germanium-on-insulator

We have investigated pure germanium two-dimensional photonic crystals. The photonic crystals which exhibit resonances in the near infrared spectral range were fabricated on germanium-on-insulator substrates using standard silicon-based processing. The germanium-on-insulator substrate consists of a thin layer of pure germanium-on-oxide deposited on a silicon substrate. The optical properties are probed by the direct band gap optical recombination of pure germanium at room temperature. Resonant optical modes are evidenced between 1.68 and 1.53 μm in different type of hexagonal cavities (H1-H5). The spectral position of the modes is controlled by the lattice periodicity and air filling factor of the photonic crystals. Close to the Ge band edge, the quality factors are limited by the bulk material absorption.