III-nitride nanowire array based 1.3μm monolithic photonic integrated circuit on (001) silicon substrate

A monolithic photonic integrated circuit with a laser, waveguide and detector on (001) silicon can be used as an optical communication link in silicon photonics. III-nitride nanowire arrays can be grown catalyst-free on (001) silicon, relatively free of extended defects [1]. The nanowires have superior characteristics compared to equivalent planar layers, e.g. lower piezoelectric polarization, higher internal quantum efficiency etc. The nanowire diameter and density can be varied over wide ranges by tuning the growth parameters. In
_x
Ga
_1-x
N disks can be inserted in these nanowires and the In composition x in the disks can be varied from 5 to 100% [2]. Quantum dot formation has been observed in these InGaN disks, which provide 3-dimensional quantum confinement [3]. The nanowires can also be selectively doped to form p-n junctions. We have employed such nanowire arrays to demonstrate the first monolithically integrated active photonic circuit on (001)silicon, composed of a diode laser emitting at 1.3μm, a dielectric waveguide, and a photodiode with high responsivity at 1.3μm.