Defect engineering for high quality InP epitaxially grown on on-axis (001) Si

Abstract

Heteroepitaxy of indium phosphide (InP) and its lattice-matched alloys on silicon (Si) show great promise for Si-based optoelectronic devices and photonic integrated circuits. Here, we report the monolithic growth of high crystalline quality InP on V-groove patterned (001) Si substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, demonstrating a low surface defect density of 4.5 × 107 cm-2, characterized by statistical electron channel contrast imaging. This advanced InP-on-Si virtual substrate is implemented by combining a compositionally graded indium gallium arsenide (InxGa1-xAs) buffer and optimized In0.73Ga0.27As/InP strained-layer superlattices on gallium arsenide on a V-grooved Si template. These techniques gradually accommodate the lattice mismatch and effectively filter most of the generated dislocations. A comprehensive material characterization and the demonstration of room-temperature continuous-wave electrically pumped laser diodes on Si validate the suitability of using this InP-on-Si platform for monolithic integration of InP- and Si-based electronic and photonic devices.