Ge and Ge-rich Group IV Alloys on Si for Photonic Device Applications

The application of silicon photonic technologies to optical telecommunications requires the development of near-infrared detectors monolithically integrated to the Si platform. Recently, new low-temperature CVD techniques have been developed for growth of high-quality epitaxial films of Ge, Ge$_{1-y}$Sn$_{y}$, and Si$_{x}$Ge$_{1-x-y}$Sn$_{y}$ directly on Si. In this poster, we present details on the growth of these films, optimization of processes for the fabrication of photonic devices, and results from some prototype p-i-n heterostructure devices.