Tensile Strained Semiconductor Photon Emission and Detection Devices and Integrated Photonics System
AssigneeAcorn Technologies, Inc.
InventorsPaul A. Clifton, Andreas Goebel, R. Stockton Gaines
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Abstract
Tensile strained germanium is provided that can be sufficiently strained to provide a nearly direct band gap material or a direct band gap material. Compressively stressed or tensile stressed stressor materials in contact with germanium regions induce uniaxial or biaxial tensile strain in the germanium regions. Stressor materials may include silicon nitride or silicon germanium. The resulting strained germanium structure can be used to emit or detect photons including, for example, generating photons within a resonant cavity to provide a laser.
Claims21
1-37. (canceled)
An optical device comprising a wafer having a germanium region, the germanium region in contact with and surrounded by a single tensile stressor region within a plane of the wafer, the single tensile stressor region inducing biaxial tensile strain within at least a portion of the germanium region in the plane of the wafer, the biaxial tensile strain causing at least a portion of the germanium region to have a reduced band gap from that which would exist in the germanium region absent the presence of the tensile stressor region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.