Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy of Semiconductors

One of the main research topics of the Polymetis team is the epitaxy of semiconductor materials useful in Photonics in the near- and mid-infrared bands using the Metal-Organic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE).  The team's research in epitaxy is divided into two main categories:

• Complex heterostructures based on mature GaAs and InP technologies:
  • GaAs-based vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs) at 850nm and 1100nm.
  • Quantum cascades devices based on the InGaAs/InAlAs system on InP for the 5-12µm range.
• Emerging materials for photonics:
  • GaP for nonlinear photonics.
  • (Si)GeSn for CMOS-compatible NIR/MIR emitters and detectors.

These research lines are carried out in an EMCORE D180 Turbodisc reactor, a tool that distinguishes itself by its versatility with it's record 12 organometallic and 7 hydride lines, as well as the uniformity that it achieves - less than 1% for an emission wavelength of 1µm on a 4" GaAs wafer. This tool is installed in the hydride facilities of Thalès Research and Technologies, less than 800m from the lab, that group all the MOCVD epitaxy equipement  of the Paris region.

The team is in the process of acquiring  a second MOCVD tool from industry-leader AIXTRON. The new tool will be dedicated to the fabrication of finely tuned, complex heterostrucures, such as GaAs-based VECSELs and InP-based quantum cascade devices. Equipped with a separate, inline deoxydation chamber - a world first for III-V MOCVD - the new tool will boast ultra-high purity materials, allowing forrays into GaAs based THz emitting QCL structures.

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