Explains the circuit design of silicon optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs), which are central to advances in wireless and wired telecommunications. The essential features of optical absorption are summarized, as is the device physics of photodetectors and their integration in modern bipolar, CMOS, and BiCMOS technologies. This information provides the basis for understanding the underlying mechanisms of the OEICs described in the main part of the book. In order to cover the topic comprehensively, Silicon Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits presents detailed descriptions of many OEICs for a wide variety of applications from various optical sensors, smart sensors, 3D-cameras, and optical storage systems (DVD) to fiber receivers in deep-sub-μm CMOS. Numerous detailed illustrations help to elucidate the material.

The book covers the entire topic from the basics of optoelectronics, device physics of photodetectors and light emitters, simulation of photodetectors, and technological aspects of optoelectronic integration in microelectronics to circuit aspects and practical applications. It summarizes the state of the art in integrated silicon optoelectronics and reviews recent publications on this topic. Results of basic research on silicon light emitters are included as well, while published results are compared with each other and with the work of the author.

As we approach the end of the present century, the elementary particles of light (photons) are seen to be competing increasingly with the elementary particles of charge (electrons/holes) in the task of transmitting and processing the insatiable amounts of infonnation needed by society. The massive enhancements in electronic signal processing that have taken place since the discovery of the transistor, elegantly demonstrate how we have learned to make use of the strong interactions that exist between assemblages of electrons and holes, disposed in suitably designed geometries, and replicated on an increasingly fine scale. On the other hand, photons interact extremely weakly amongst themselves and all-photonic active circuit elements, where photons control photons, are presently very difficult to realise, particularly in small volumes. Fortunately rapid developments in the design and understanding of semiconductor injection lasers coupled with newly recognized quantum phenomena, that arise when device dimensions become comparable with electronic wavelengths, have clearly demonstrated how efficient and fast the interaction between electrons and photons can be. This latter situation has therefore provided a strong incentive to devise and study monolithic integrated circuits which involve both electrons and photons in their operation. As chapter I notes, it is barely fifteen years ago since the first demonstration of simple optoelectronic integrated circuits were realised using m-V compound semiconductors; these combined either a laser/driver or photodetector/preamplifier combination.

Integration of III-V materials with Si substrates has been studied extensively in recent years since it has a wide range of applications on optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEIC). It enables the combinations of III-V based optoelectronic devices with Si-based microelectronic devices and circuits. The conventional approach for III-V integration with Si is based on wafer bonding and etch-back. Although it provides III-V materials transferred on Si with relatively high crystalline quality, the etch-back process in this approach etches off the initial III-V growth substrate thus it gives low yield and increases the cost. Recently, another III-V layer transfer approach using the ion-cut (smart-cut®) process has been demonstrated, based on hydrogen ion implantation and wafer bonding. This approach has the advantage of saving the initial III-V substrate for reuse, but the transferred structure usually suffers from the hydrogen implantation induced damage. This dissertation demonstrates a new approach that combines ion-cut and selective chemical etch for InP-based III-V layer transfer. This layer transfer scheme takes advantage of conventional ion-cutting process by conserving III-V substrates for reuse, and simultaneously improving the transferred layer quality and surface condition without using chemical and mechanical polishing. The effects of hydrogen ion implantation conditions (temperature, dose rate, and energy) on III-V ion-cut process have been investigated and the physical mechanism behind these effects was examined. Based on these findings, the hydrogen implantation conditions were optimized in our study that led to successful III-V layer transfers. Based on our layer transfer scheme, two approaches have been explored for integrating an III-V based device on Si. One way is to transfer an InP layer onto Si and use this transferred structure as a growth template. Instead of growing complicated III-V device structures which are out of the growth capacity in our laboratory, we focused on the fundamental issues with the transferred structure that must be solved for the growth template purpose. Particularly there is a bubble issue that always shows up when the transferred structures are heated up in the growth chamber. We studied the origin of these bubbles and implemented a simple and effective approach that can constantly solve the bubble problem. Another way is to grow an III-V device on III-V substrate and transfer the whole device structure onto Si. InP/InGaAs/InP p-i-n photodiodes were transferred onto Si substrate and the effects of the hydrogen implantation on the device performance have been discussed.