WO2022068104A1

WO2022068104A1 - Silicon-based semiconductor laser and manufacturing method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2022068104A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/139881
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张耀辉; 马四光; 刘伟
Original assignee: 苏州华太电子技术有限公司
Priority date: 2020-09-30
Filing date: 2020-12-28
Publication date: 2022-04-07
Also published as: CN114336270A; CN114336270B

Abstract

A silicon-based semiconductor laser and a manufacturing method therefor. The laser comprises a first diode structure, a light-emitting active region and a second diode structure, wherein the light-emitting active region is arranged between the first diode structure and the second diode structure; and when a preset reverse bias voltage is applied to the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure, the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure can inject electrons into the light-emitting active region and generate an "electric field well" for the electrons in the light-emitting active region, thereby limiting the electrons to the light-emitting active region. By means of the silicon-based semiconductor laser, electron-hole pairs effectively collect electron carriers in a light-emitting medium by using reverse injection, and the population inversion of conduction band energy valley electrons and valence band top holes capable of emitting light can be effectively realized, thereby realizing electronic injection lasing of a silicon-based laser.

Description

Silicon-based semiconductor laser and method of making the same

technical field

The present application relates to a semiconductor laser, in particular to a silicon-based semiconductor laser and a manufacturing method thereof, belonging to the technical field of semiconductors.

Background technique

Silicon Photonics is an emerging discipline that utilizes silicon-based semiconductor technology to integrate optoelectronic functions into a single chip. Because it is based on low cost, low power consumption, mature silicon-based large-scale integrated circuit technology, high integration, compact structure, and realizes optical interconnection. However, there are still some problems in silicon photonics that limit its application, especially the problem of light source. Because the silicon material itself has an indirect band gap, silicon-based lasers are recognized as unsolved world problems, and no major technological breakthrough has yet occurred.

The technical routes of silicon-based semiconductor lasers are mainly divided into two categories: one is to make light sources with Group IV materials and their compounds, and the other is to introduce III-V compounds into silicon to make light sources. So far, the first technical route has not achieved a major breakthrough, and it is impossible to produce a practical silicon-based semiconductor laser. In the second technical route, due to the introduction of III-V compounds, it cannot be compatible with the existing silicon process, and the mass production is difficult and expensive, so it cannot be considered as a real silicon-based semiconductor laser solution.

Electric injection laser lasing is realized on silicon substrate through germanium or germanium-silicon medium. On the one hand, it is compatible with CMOS process, and on the other hand, it can realize silicon-based electric injection laser. It is an ideal way to realize silicon-based semiconductor laser. The key technical bottleneck of photonics. SiGe/Si and Ge/SiGe heterojunction ultra-thin layer quantum structures have always been considered the most feasible solution to this technical problem. These material structures are compatible with CMOS processes. For example, the SiGe BiCMOS device process platform is SiGe/Si HBT and CMOS monolithic integration.

However, in the past 40 years, there has been no major breakthrough in SiGe or Ge/SiGe electrical injection lasers. From the perspective of device physics, the following two obstacles have been encountered: First, Si, SiGe and Ge are indirect bandgap semiconductor materials, electronic - The direct luminous efficiency of the hole pair is extremely weak, which is 4 to 5 orders of magnitude lower than the luminous efficiency of the III-V direct bandgap semiconductor materials; 2. The conduction band of Si/SiGe and Ge/SiGe heterojunctions is different from that of compound semiconductors , the discontinuity of the conduction band of the heterojunction is very small, and even two types of superlattices will appear, which cannot effectively collect and confine electrons and holes in the light-emitting region of the ultra-thin layer, so it is difficult to effectively realize the laser in the light-emitting region. Population inversion required for lasing.

Application content

The main purpose of this application is to provide a silicon-based semiconductor laser and a manufacturing method thereof to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.

In order to achieve the aforementioned application purpose, the technical solutions adopted in this application include:

An embodiment of the present application provides a silicon-based semiconductor laser, which includes a first diode structure, a light-emitting active region, and a second diode structure, wherein the light-emitting active region is disposed in the first diode structure and the second diode structure. Between the two diode structures, the first diode structure and the second diode structure include pn diodes or Schottky diodes, when the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure When a preset reverse bias voltage is applied to the structure, the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure can inject electrons into the light-emitting active region by utilizing a large number of electrons generated by diode reverse breakdown , and use the reverse electric field generated by the reverse bias voltage to generate an "electric field trap" for the electrons in the light-emitting active region, thereby confining the electrons in the light-emitting active region.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a method for fabricating a silicon-based semiconductor laser as described above, which includes: sequentially growing on a silicon substrate to form a first diode structure or a semiconductor structure of the first diode structure, a light-emitting active region , a second diode structure, or a semiconductor structure of a second diode structure.

Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present application include: the silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by the embodiment of the present application adopts reverse injection to realize the effective collection of electron-hole pairs in the light-emitting medium, and simultaneously It can effectively realize the population inversion of the conduction band valley electrons that can emit light and the valence band top holes, thereby realizing the electrical injection lasing of the silicon-based laser; The epitaxial structure of the semiconductor laser can be compatible with the CMOS LSI process, so that the silicon-based optoelectronics can be combined with the silicon-based microelectronics.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic diagram of the electroluminescence mechanism of a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application;

2 is a schematic structural diagram of a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of another silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application;

4 is a schematic structural diagram of another silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application;

5 is a schematic diagram of the working energy band of a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application when there is no reverse bias;

6 is a schematic diagram of the working energy band (electric field trap) of a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application when reverse bias is applied;

7 is a schematic diagram of the working energy band of a bilateral reverse breakdown injection silicon-based laser in a typical implementation case of the present application;

Figure 8a and Figure 8b are the energy band diagrams of germanium under unstrained and tensile strained conditions, respectively;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the energy band of the light-emitting active region of a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical implementation case of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an edge-emitting laser of a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in a typical embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the applicant of the present application has been able to propose the technical solution of the present application after long-term research and extensive practice. The technical solution, its implementation process and principle will be further explained as follows.

The silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by the embodiment of the present application adopts reverse injection to realize the effective collection of electron-hole pairs in the luminescent medium of electron carriers, and can effectively realize the conduction band valley electrons and valence electrons capable of emitting light. Population inversion with top holes, thereby realizing electrical injection lasing of silicon-based laser; The circuit technology is compatible and can combine silicon-based optoelectronics with silicon-based microelectronics.

In some specific embodiments, the first diode structure is a pn diode structure, and the first diode structure includes a first silicon layer, a second silicon layer and a third silicon layer stacked in sequence, A first SiGe layer and a light-emitting active region are sequentially stacked on the third silicon layer, wherein the first silicon layer and the light-emitting active region are of the first conductivity type, and the second silicon layer and the third silicon layer are of the first conductivity type. layer, the first SiGe layer is of the second conductivity type;

Alternatively, the first diode structure is a Schottky diode structure, the first diode structure includes a first metal layer, a second silicon layer and a third silicon layer stacked in sequence, and the third silicon layer A first SiGe layer and a light-emitting active region are stacked on the layers in sequence, wherein the light-emitting active region is of the first conductivity type, and the second silicon layer, the third silicon layer, and the first SiGe layer are of the second conductivity type. Type of.

Further, the second silicon layer and the third silicon layer are respectively an n ⁺ type silicon layer and an n ^- type silicon layer, the first SiGe layer is an n ^- type SiGe layer, and the light emitting active region is p ^{+ +} type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well light emitting active region.

Further, the first silicon layer is a p ⁺⁺ type silicon layer.

In some specific embodiments, the silicon-based semiconductor laser further includes a silicon substrate, and the first silicon layer is formed on the silicon substrate.

In some specific embodiments, the second diode structure is a pn diode structure, and the second diode structure includes a fourth silicon layer, a fifth silicon layer and a sixth silicon layer stacked in sequence, A second SiGe layer and a fourth silicon layer are sequentially stacked on the light-emitting active region, wherein the sixth silicon layer and the light-emitting active region are of the first conductivity type, and the fourth silicon layer and the fifth silicon layer are of the first conductivity type. , the second SiGe layer is of the second conductivity type;

Alternatively, the second diode structure is a Schottky diode structure, the second diode structure includes a fourth silicon layer, a fifth silicon layer and a second metal layer stacked in sequence, and the light-emitting active A second SiGe layer and a fourth silicon layer are sequentially stacked on the region, wherein the light-emitting active region is of the first conductivity type, and the fourth silicon layer, the fifth silicon layer, and the second SiGe layer are of the second conductivity type of.

Further, the fourth silicon layer and the fifth silicon layer are respectively an n ^- type silicon layer and an n ⁺ -type silicon layer, the second SiGe layer is an n ^- type SiGe layer, and the light-emitting active region is p ^{+ +} type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well light emitting active region.

Further, the sixth silicon layer is a p ⁺⁺ type silicon layer.

Further, the light-emitting active region is connected to a high potential, the first silicon layer or the first metal layer in the first diode structure is connected to a low potential, and the sixth silicon layer in the second diode structure is connected to a low potential. layer or the second metal layer is connected to a low potential.

Further, at least part of the structural layers in the first diode structure are formed as a first waveguide structure.

Further, at least part of the structural layers in the second diode structure are formed as a second waveguide structure.

Further, the first diode structure, the light emitting active region and the second diode structure are integrally arranged.

Further, the silicon-based semiconductor laser is a three-terminal semiconductor laser device.

Further, the laser light generated by the silicon-based semiconductor laser is emitted from the cleavage side of the silicon (100).

Further, the fabrication method further includes: removing the silicon substrate, and fabricating a first metal layer matched with the semiconductor structure of the first diode structure to form a first diode;

Further, the fabrication method further includes: fabricating a second metal layer matched with the semiconductor structure of the second diode structure to form a second diode.

Further, the manufacturing method further includes: processing at least part of the structural layers in the first diode structure to form a first waveguide structure.

Further, the manufacturing method further includes: processing at least part of the structural layers in the second diode structure to form a second waveguide structure.

The technical solution, its implementation process and principle will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments of the present application provide an epitaxial structure and a manufacturing method of a silicon-based semiconductor laser. The silicon-based semiconductor laser can be fabricated on a process compatible with existing silicon-based semiconductors, so as to solve the problem that the current silicon photonics cannot be effectively used in silicon photonics. Technical difficulties in making lasers in silicon-based processes.

Referring to FIG. 2, a silicon-based semiconductor laser includes a p ⁺⁺ -type silicon layer, an n ⁺ -type silicon layer, an n ^- type silicon layer, an n ^- type SiGe layer, a p++-type silicon layer, an n-type SiGe layer, ⁺⁺ type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum wells, n ^- type SiGe layer, n ^- type silicon layer, n ⁺ type silicon layer, p ⁺⁺ type silicon layer, the p ⁺⁺ type silicon layer and n ⁺ type silicon layer, The n ^- type silicon layers are combined to form a pn diode, and the p ⁺⁺ -type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well is sandwiched between two of the n ^- type SiGe layers, wherein the n ^- type SiGe layer acts as a silicon-based semiconductor Transition layer for lasers.

Referring to FIG. 3, a silicon-based semiconductor laser includes a p ⁺⁺ -type silicon layer, an n ⁺ -type silicon layer, an n ^- type silicon layer, an n ^- type SiGe layer, a p++-type silicon layer, an n-type SiGe layer, ⁺⁺ type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum wells, n ^- type SiGe layer, n ^- type silicon layer, n ⁺ type silicon layer, metal layer, the p ⁺⁺ type silicon layer and n ⁺ type silicon layer, n ^- type silicon layer The layers are combined to form a pn diode, the metal layer is combined with the n ⁺ type silicon layer and the n ^- type silicon layer to form a Schottky diode, and the p ⁺⁺ type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum wells are sandwiched between the two n ^- type silicon layers. between the SiGe layers.

Referring to FIG. 4, a silicon-based semiconductor laser includes a metal layer, an n ⁺ -type silicon layer, an n ^- type silicon layer, an n ^- type SiGe layer, and a p ⁺⁺ -type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well stacked in sequence along the thickness direction. , n ^- type SiGe layer, n ^- type silicon layer, n ⁺ type silicon layer, metal layer, the metal layer and n ⁺ silicon layer, n ^- silicon layer, combined to form a Schottky diode, the p ⁺⁺ type SiGe The /Ge multiple quantum well is sandwiched between the two n ^- type SiGe layers.

A method for fabricating a silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in an embodiment of the present application at least includes:

(1) Using the SiGe/Ge quantum well material system, which can produce effective electroluminescence;

Different from the prior art that uses high-concentration doping of n-type impurities in the Ge light-emitting medium, the present application uses modulation doping in the Ge light-emitting medium to fill p-type holes with high concentration, and the modulation doping method can be doped according to different regions. Different concentrations and materials; the silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by this application injects a large number of electrons generated by the reverse breakdown of the diode (which can be a pn junction diode or a Schottky diode) into the high-energy Γ valley of Ge, and the electrons relax to Γ Valley bottom, this relaxation process is shown as process 0 in Figure 1, and the time of process 0 is only sub-picosecond; electrons at the bottom of the Γ valley are quickly transferred to the L energy valley through the inter-valley electrons, as shown in process 1 in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, process 1 is only on the order of picoseconds; there is only one exit for electrons at the bottom of the L energy valley, which is to recombine with holes at the top of the valence band Γ through phonon-assisted emission. However, this process (process 2) is very slow, as shown in Figure 1. As shown in process 2, process 2 requires close to the microsecond order.

Since the electrons in the L valley hardly have time to escape (process 1 is nearly 6 orders of magnitude faster than process 2), if the number of electrons injected into Ge reaches a certain level (as long as the rate of process 1 is greater than that of process 2 and lasts long enough time), the energy state of the L valley is easily filled, and the quasi-Fermi level in the conduction band can be raised to exceed the bottom of the Γ valley, so that electrons in the conduction band Γ valley can interact with the holes at the top Γ of the valence band. Recombination occurs, as shown in process 3 in FIG. 1 . Process 3 can satisfy momentum conservation and emit photons, that is, electroluminescence is realized, and process 3 is on the order of nanoseconds.

(2) Provide a reasonable quantum well structure, use SiGe/Ge multiple quantum wells as the light-emitting active region of the semiconductor laser, and distribute the light-emitting active region in n-type doped silicon to form p-n-p-n-p or p-n-p-n-m (metal) or m-n-p-n-m device structure;

As shown in FIG. 2, in this structure, the top electrode (ie the diode stacked above the SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well, corresponding to the aforementioned second or second diode structure, the same below) and the bottom electrode (ie The diode stacked under the SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well, corresponding to the aforementioned first diode or first diode structure, the same below) can be both pn diodes, so that the semiconductor laser forms a p-n-p-n-p structure, and is The p-type region forms an ohmic electrode, and the n-type region is suspended, thereby forming a three-terminal device structure.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3 , the top electrode can also be a Schottky diode, and the bottom electrode can be a pn diode, so that the semiconductor laser forms a p-n-p-n-m (m represents metal, the same below) structure.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4 , both the top electrode and the bottom electrode may be Schottky diodes, so that the semiconductor laser forms an m-n-p-n-m structure.

In the following, only the top electrode and the bottom electrode are both pn diodes for illustration. Of course, the top electrode and the bottom electrode of the present application may be pn diodes or Schottky diodes.

(3) Please refer to FIG. 2. Taking a semiconductor laser with a p-n-p-n-p device structure as an example, the highly doped p-type light-emitting active region is sandwiched between two n-type regions, and is directly connected to a high potential through an external electrode to achieve empty The injection of the hole, the other two p-type regions are connected to a low potential through the p-type ohmic electrode.

It should be noted that, in the semiconductor laser structure shown in Figure 2, the pn diode close to the light-emitting active region is biased by forward voltage. The holes injected into the light-emitting active region must be confined in the SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well and cannot diffuse into the n-type Si region, because Si _1-x Ge _x /Si, 0≤x≤1, the valence band of the system is not The continuous amount can reach about 0.5eV, which is enough to confine holes in the light-emitting active region.

(4) Please refer to Figure 2 again. In the p-n-p-n-p device structure shown in Figure 2, the two pn diodes close to the periphery are reverse voltage biased. These two pn diodes must be designed to work in reverse breakdown. In order to make it easier to reverse breakdown under working conditions (this application does not limit the mechanism of reverse breakdown, such as avalanche breakdown or Zener breakdown, etc.), reverse breakdown produces a large number of Electrons will be injected into the light-emitting active region.

It should be noted that a reverse-biased pn diode or Schottky diode increases the potential barrier of conduction band electrons, and the potential barrier and conduction band on both sides form an energy trap for conduction band electrons, because this energy trap is generated by external The reverse electric field is established, and this structure can be called "Electric Field Well"; in the electric field well, since the light-emitting active region is sandwiched between two reversed pn diodes, reverse breakdown occurs. The generated electrons can be effectively collected by the light-emitting active region, thereby rapidly increasing the electron concentration in the conduction band.

Since both the L-Γ and X-Γ transitions of electrons violate momentum conservation, their recombination lifetime is extremely long and can hardly occur within an effective time. Therefore, the only way out for electrons in the conduction band is to directly interact with holes in the luminescent active region. Band gap light-emitting recombination, that is, the Γ-Γ light-emitting recombination transition occurs. If the rate of reverse breakdown injection is large enough, the quasi-Fermi level of the conduction band electrons can be raised to the Γ level covering the conduction band, which can effectively The Γ-Γ luminescent recombination transition is realized.

In the silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in the embodiment of the present application, since the conduction band discontinuity of the germanium-silicon system is small, in order to prevent the electrons injected into the light-emitting active region from escaping, there are more opportunities for Γ-Γ to occur. The light-emitting composite transition requires reverse biasing on the pn junction or Schottky junction on both sides of the light-emitting active region to improve the barrier for electrons to escape from the active region and reduce the probability of electrons escaping from the active region. This is the use of electric field traps to limit electron escape.

Specifically, when a reverse bias voltage is applied to the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure, the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure can work In the reverse breakdown mode, a large number of electrons are generated and injected into the light-emitting active region; and the reverse bias voltage applied on the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure is established by The reverse electric field can form an electric field trap, thereby confining electrons to the light emitting active region.

Please refer to Fig. 5. Since the discontinuity of conduction band in SiGe system is small, electrons injected backward from the left side as shown in Fig. 5 can easily jump over the lower potential barrier on the right side and emit light from the The active region escapes and enters the p++ region on the right, which reduces the probability of Γ-Γ recombination transition between electrons and holes in the active region. In order to increase the residence time of electrons injected from the left into the light-emitting active region in the light-emitting active region, and improve the probability of Γ-Γ light-emitting recombination, as shown in FIG. A reverse bias voltage is applied to the diode, thereby increasing the potential barrier required for electron escape in the active region of the light-emitting region to escape, forming an electric field trap, increasing the time that the electrons stay in the active region of the light-emitting region, and thus improving the light-emitting efficiency.

Please refer to FIG. 6 again. The semiconductor laser shown in FIG. 6 adopts unilateral injection. The electrons in the light-emitting active area are injected by the reverse breakdown mechanism of the pn diode on the left side, and the holes are injected by the external electrode of the light-emitting active area. The pn diode is reverse biased to create a potential barrier to prevent electrons from emitting from the active region from escaping. Further, the pn diode on the right can also be designed to work in the reverse breakdown mode. At this time, the pn diode on the right can also inject electrons into the light-emitting active region through the reverse breakdown mechanism; among them, the bilateral reverse The principle of breakdown injection silicon-based semiconductor laser can be seen in Figure 7.

(5) In the silicon-based semiconductor laser with the p-n-p-n-p device structure provided by the embodiment of the present application, the silicon substrate and the silicon-doped layer on both sides of the light-emitting active region become the optical waveguide of the silicon-based semiconductor laser, and the light emission in the optical waveguide region has The photon leakage generated in the source region is suppressed, the structure can effectively realize the confinement of photons and electron hole carriers respectively, improve the optical gain in the laser resonator, and realize the laser lasing.

Example 1

In order to make the silicon-based semiconductor laser provided in the embodiment of the present application more prone to the Γ-Γ light-emitting recombination transition, it is necessary to reduce the energy of the Γ energy valley in the conduction band as much as possible to make it as close to the L energy valley as possible, or even lower than the L energy valley. In this embodiment, germanium and silicon are selected to form a quantum well system.

As shown in Fig. 8a and Fig. 8b, Fig. 8a and Fig. 8b show the energy band diagrams of germanium under unstrained and tensile strain conditions, respectively, wherein the energy band of germanium is shown in Fig. 8(a) when there is no strain. ), the energy difference between the Γ energy valley and the L energy valley is ΔE1=0.178 eV; while under tensile strain, the energy difference between the Γ energy valley and the L energy valley of germanium is ΔE2, which can be reduced to Therefore, in this embodiment, by changing the energy band structure of the SiGe system by tensile stress, the energy difference between the Γ valley and the L valley can be reduced, The luminous efficiency of the silicon-based semiconductor laser of the present application is improved.

In this embodiment, the Si _1-x Ge _x /Si _1-y Ge _y quantum well system is used as the light-emitting active region, where x<0.85<y, and FIG. 9 shows the energy band of the light-emitting active region in this embodiment Schematic diagram, in which, in region (III), due to the injection of electrons, the electron quasi-Fermi level of the system is higher than the Γ energy valley of germanium, so a large number of electrons can recombine with holes near the valence band for Γ-Γ luminescent recombination , thereby emitting photons; while in region (II) and region (IV), the electron quasi-Fermi level of the system is only higher than the X energy valley of germanium, but lower than the L energy valley and Γ energy valley, located in the X energy valley Due to the inconsistency between the wave vector of the electron and the Γ energy valley in the valence band, the electron does not satisfy the wave vector selection rule and cannot effectively recombine; while the L energy valley and the Γ energy valley are much higher than the electron quasi-Fermi energy level, Without electron filling, recombination cannot occur; therefore, the regions in this system where Γ-Γ luminescent recombination can take place efficiently are in regions (I) and (III).

As shown in FIG. 10 , the silicon-based semiconductor laser in this embodiment emits from the cleaved side of silicon (100), wherein the silicon substrate and the silicon-doped layer on both sides of the light-emitting active region serve as the optical waveguide of the silicon-based semiconductor laser , the photon leakage generated by the light-emitting active region of the optical waveguide region is suppressed. Therefore, the silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by the embodiment of the present application effectively realizes the confinement of photons and electron hole carriers respectively, and improves the laser resonant cavity. within the optical gain to achieve laser lasing.

A silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by an embodiment of the present application has a p-n-p-n-p or p-n-p-n-m (metal) or m-n-p-n-m structure, and the silicon-based semiconductor laser is a three-terminal semiconductor laser device.

A silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by the embodiment of the present application utilizes electrons generated by reverse breakdown (avalanche breakdown or Zener breakdown) of a pn diode to inject electrons into the active region of light-emitting; The source region prevents its escape and increases the efficiency of the direct band gap light-emitting recombination of electrons and holes in the light-emitting active region.

A silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by an embodiment of the present application utilizes lateral carrier transport in the middle p-type region of the p-n-p-n-p or p-n-p-n-m or m-n-p-n-m structure to realize hole injection into the light-emitting active region; using the n-type region and the middle p-type region The discontinuous amount of the valence band of the region confines the injected hole carriers to the active region, so that the population inversion of lasing can be satisfied.

The silicon-based semiconductor laser provided by the embodiment of the present application uses the potential barrier generated by the reverse bias of the diode to confine the electrons in the active region, realizes the effective collection of the injected electron carriers, and makes the electrons in the conduction band quasi-charged. The meter energy level is raised to the direct energy valley of the conduction band of the active region, and then the population inversion and laser lasing are realized;

It should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are only intended to illustrate the technical concept and characteristics of the present application, and the purpose thereof is to enable those who are familiar with the technology to understand the content of the present application and implement accordingly, and cannot limit the protection scope of the present application. All equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit and spirit of this application should be covered within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

A silicon-based semiconductor laser is characterized by comprising a first diode structure, a light-emitting active region and a second diode structure, wherein the light-emitting active region is arranged in the first diode structure and the second diode structure Between the structures, the first diode structure and the second diode structure include pn diodes or Schottky diodes. When the reverse bias voltage is set, the first diode structure and/or the second diode structure can inject electrons into the light-emitting active region by utilizing a large number of electrons generated by the reverse breakdown of the diode, and utilize all the electrons generated by the diode reverse breakdown. The reverse electric field generated by the reverse bias voltage generates an "electric field trap" for electrons in the light-emitting active region, thereby confining the electrons in the light-emitting active region.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein the first diode structure is a pn diode structure, and the first diode structure comprises a first silicon layer and a second silicon layer stacked in sequence. layer and a third silicon layer, a first SiGe layer and a light-emitting active region are sequentially stacked on the third silicon layer, wherein the first silicon layer and the light-emitting active region are of the first conductivity type, and the first SiGe layer and the light-emitting active region are of the first conductivity type. The second silicon layer, the third silicon layer, and the first SiGe layer are of the second conductivity type;

Alternatively, the first diode structure is a Schottky diode structure, the first diode structure includes a first metal layer, a second silicon layer and a third silicon layer stacked in sequence, and the third silicon layer A first SiGe layer and a light-emitting active region are stacked on the layers in sequence, wherein the light-emitting active region is of the first conductivity type, and the second silicon layer, the third silicon layer, and the first SiGe layer are of the second conductivity type. Type of.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 2, wherein the second silicon layer and the third silicon layer are respectively an n + type silicon layer and an n - type silicon layer, and the first SiGe layer is an n - type silicon layer. type SiGe layer, and the light-emitting active region is a p ++ type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well light-emitting active region.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser of claim 3, wherein the first silicon layer is a p ++ type silicon layer.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 2, further comprising a silicon substrate, and the first silicon layer is formed on the silicon substrate.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein the second diode structure is a pn diode structure, and the second diode structure comprises a fourth silicon layer and a fifth silicon layer stacked in sequence. layer and a sixth silicon layer, a second SiGe layer and a fourth silicon layer are sequentially stacked on the light-emitting active region, wherein the sixth silicon layer and the light-emitting active region are of the first conductivity type, and the fourth The silicon layer, the fifth silicon layer, and the second SiGe layer are of the second conductivity type;

Alternatively, the second diode structure is a Schottky diode structure, the second diode structure includes a fourth silicon layer, a fifth silicon layer and a second metal layer stacked in sequence, and the light-emitting active A second SiGe layer and a fourth silicon layer are sequentially stacked on the region, wherein the light-emitting active region is of the first conductivity type, and the fourth silicon layer, the fifth silicon layer, and the second SiGe layer are of the second conductivity type of.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 6, wherein the fourth silicon layer and the fifth silicon layer are respectively an n - type silicon layer and an n + -type silicon layer, and the second SiGe layer is an n - type silicon layer. type SiGe layer, and the light-emitting active region is a p ++ type SiGe/Ge multiple quantum well light-emitting active region.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 7, wherein the sixth silicon layer is a p ++ type silicon layer.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting active region is connected to a high potential, the first silicon layer or the first metal layer in the first diode structure is connected to a low potential, and simultaneously The sixth silicon layer or the second metal layer in the second diode structure is connected to a low potential.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser of claim 1, wherein at least part of the structural layers in the first diode structure are formed as a first waveguide structure, and/or, in the second diode structure At least part of the structural layer is formed as a second waveguide structure.
The silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 1, wherein: the first diode structure, the light-emitting active region and the second diode structure are integrally arranged; and/or the silicon-based semiconductor laser is A three-terminal semiconductor laser device; and/or, the laser light generated by the silicon-based semiconductor laser is emitted from the cleavage side of the silicon (100).
The method for manufacturing a silicon-based semiconductor laser according to claim 1-11, characterized in that it comprises:

The first diode structure or the semiconductor structure of the first diode structure, the light emitting active region, the second diode structure or the semiconductor structure of the second diode structure are sequentially grown on the silicon substrate.
The manufacturing method of claim 12, further comprising: removing the silicon substrate, and fabricating a first metal layer matched with the semiconductor structure of the first diode structure to form a first diode;

And/or, the fabrication method further includes: fabricating a second metal layer matched with the semiconductor structure of the second diode structure to form a second diode.
The manufacturing method of claim 12, further comprising: processing at least part of the structural layers in the first diode structure to form a first waveguide structure, and/or the manufacturing method It also includes: processing at least part of the structural layers in the second diode structure to form a second waveguide structure.