PHOTO : Techno - 3D electro-optic confinement for III-V semiconductor photonic devices

The oxidation of III-V semiconductor is a key technological process for the fabrication of opto-electronic devices such as VCSELs and optical waveguide devices. To that extent, we have developped a planar oxidation scheme i.e. a technological process making possible the sophisticated structuration of the refractive indices and electrical injection thanks to a sequential use of oxidation and epitaxial regrowth steps. This approach is an improvement over the standard process since the confinement is no longer laterally defined from etched mesas but results from a surface oxidation. This technique thus offers a new and more versatile route to make a wider range of advanced photonic devices including high-density VCSEL arrays.

AFM image of a wafer surface after lateral oxidation of a buried AlAs layer and epitaxial regrowth.

Related publications:

S. Calvez, P.-F. Calmon, A. Arnoult, O. Gauthier-Lafaye, C. Fontaine and G. Almuneau, “Low-loss buried AlGaAs/AlOx waveguides using a quasi-planar process”, Optics Express 25 (16), 19275-19280, 2017.

​F. Chouchane, H. Makhloufi, S. Calvez, C. Fontaine and G. Almuneau, “Photoluminescence from InGaAs/GaAs quantum well regrown on a buried patterned oxidized AlAs layer”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 061912, 2014.