InP based devices for optoelectronic integration

Reports on a butt jointed integration process based on the multiple stage epitaxial growth which enables the key optical components, lasers, detectors, switches, and other active waveguide components, to be integrated with the passive waveguide structure which form the basis of the optical signal routing elements on chip. The disparity of epitaxial layer structures for high performance discrete optoelectronic devices necessitates the use of multiple stage selective area epitaxy, using dielectric masked regions where growth is not required to minimise performance compromise of the individual components in a integration process. Such growth techniques generally lead to enhanced growth rates in the vicinity of the mask edges, as a result of the diffusion of the growth species from the nongrowth mask areas, resulting in highly nonplanar interface regions. Optimisation of the growth conditions at low pressure has been shown to substantially reduce this increased growth and produces highly planar morphology with minimal polycrystalline growth on the dielectric mask. These interfaces have been shown to be of high optical quality and structurally defect free. A schematic of the laser waveguide integration is illustrated