Photonic silicon on a transparent substrate

US6093941A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force · US

Inventors

• Stephen D. Russell · San Diego, US
• Wadad B. Dubbelday · Lemon Grove, US
• Randy L. Shimabukuro · San Diego, US
• Paul R. de la Houssaye · San Diego, US
• Diane M. Szaflarski · San Diego, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 9, 1993
• Grant date: Jul 25, 2000
• Expiry date: Sep 9, 2013

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10H20/833

Abstract

A light emitting photonic structure has a transparent substrate, such as sapphire, supporting a layer of group IV semiconductor material, such as silicon, having at least one porous region from which light is emitted as a response to an electrical or optical stimulus. Optionally, the group IV semiconductor material may be germanium, carbon, tin, silicon-germanium, silicon carbide, single crystal structures, polycrystalline structures, or amorphous structures and the transparent substrate may be glass, quartz, fused silica, diamond, ruby, yttria alumina garnet, yttria stabilized zirconium, magnesium fluoride or magnesium oxide. When the stimulus is electrical, the response is electroluminescence or cathodoluminescence and when the stimulus is optical, the response is photoluminescence. The method includes providing a transparent substrate, forming a layer of a group IV semiconductor material on the transparent substrate, and fabricating at least one region in the layer of the group IV semiconductor material from which light is emitted as a response to a electro- or photo-stimulus. The fabricating of the region is by a photochemical etch by an etching solution and a means to catalyze…