Monolithic integration of InGaAs n-FETs and lasers on Ge substrate

We report the first monolithic integration of InGaAs channel field-effect transistors with InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) lasers on a common platform, achieving a milestone in the path of enabling low power and high speed opto-electronic integrated circuits (OEICs). The III-V layers used for realizing transistors and lasers were grown epitaxially on the Ge substrate using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A Si-CMOS compatible process was developed to realize InGaAs n-FETs with subthreshold swing SS of 93 mV/decade, I_ON/I_OFF ratio of more than 4 orders of magnitude with very low off-state leakage current, and a peak effective mobility of more than 2000 cm²/V·s. In addition, fabrication process uses a low overall processing temperature (≤ 400 °C) to maintain the high quality of the InGaAs/GaAs MQWs for the laser. Room temperature electrically-pumped lasers with a lasing wavelength of 1.03 µm and a linewidth of less than 1.7 nm were realized.