Hetero-Junction Pumped Er-Light Emitter for Integrated Optical Communication 02-011A

SVT Associates proposes an enhanced GaN:Er light emitting diode fabricated on silicon substrate and can be integrated with thin film waveguide, such that light propagation can be manipulated for fast on-chip or chip-to-chip interconnect. A key component ofthe optical communication on a chip is an efficient light source. Since the efficiency of electron impact-induced luminesence of Er is high, it would serve well for that role. GaN has been shown to act as a good lattice host to Er, and high qualitynitrides can be grown directly on Si and be compatible with the silicon processing environment. Therefore GaN:Er is a good candidate for such function. Prototype emitter devices will be fabricated and evaluated in the proposed project. The integrationissues will then be addressed in the follow-on program. The technology will benefit high speed electronics and computing required for DoD missions and commercial markets. The proposed concept would lead to High performance integrated electronics andphotonic devices. To be compatible with the silicon processing technology, such "superchip" could result in economical, large scale, high performance super computers and high bandwidth optical communication systems.