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Introduction
III-V compound semiconductors form the basis of modern optoelectronics technology, enabling semiconductor lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photo-detectors, and other specialised devices for applications in areas as diverse as optical data storage, telecommunications, biomedicine and displays. The III-V Optoelectronic Devices Team is working on the development of light-emitting semiconductor devices for a broad range of applications, covering the spectral range from the ultraviolet (~250nm) to the mid-infrared (~3.0 μ m). Significant strengths of the team are in applying expertise from solid-state laser science (diode-pumping, ultra-short pulse generation, single-frequency operation) to the traditionally separate field of semiconductor lasers, and in combining novel materials and device concepts with extensive capability to custom-design and fabricate structures for specific applications.
The team's research themes include:
- III-nitride materials (both ‘dilute’
nitrides and ‘wide-bandgap’ nitrides)
- Surface-emitting formats of device (lasers, amplifiers, micro-LEDs),
- Optical pumping for spectroscopy and laser action
- Micro-structured devices (micro-lasers, micro-LEDs, micro-optics, micro-cavities, photonic micro-systems)
Current Research
| 1. VECSELs | |
| The team, in collaboration with colleagues in the Solid-State Laser Team and in the Department of Physics, is a recognised leader in the development of high-power surface-emitting semiconductor lasers, and has had research activity in this area since 1997. These devices, known as semiconductor thin-disk lasers or vertical external-cavity semiconductor lasers, are analogous to traditional solid-state lasers of the doped-dielectric type, but instead utilise a semiconductor mirror/gain structure to form one end of the cavity. |
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| Their advantages are in (i) mode-conversion, producing symmetric fundamental-mode output beams at high average powers, (ii) wavelength conversion, offering very wide spectral coverage, and (iii) flexibility of operation. Powers of up to 10W CW have been achieved from these lasers in fundamental mode at ~45% optical-to-optical conversion efficiency; device demonstrations now cover wavelengths from 670nm to 2.3 μ m at the fundamental and extend through the visible to 335nm by intra-cavity second harmonic generation; VECSELs have demonstrated GHz mode-locked operation and tuneable single-frequency operation. The team has ongoing programmes encompassing most of these areas. |
Prof. Dawson presented an invited tutorial on these lasers
at CLEO/QELS 2006, a copy of which is accessible here.
(28Mb)
2. GaInNAs(Sb) materials science and device applications
The team was amongst the first world-wide to realise the potential of GaAs-substrate-based GaInNAs(Sb) materials for 1.3 μ m – 1.55 μ m telecommunications device applications. From the outset, the motivation of the team has been (i) to perform basic measurements of the materials parameters of these structures using optical spectroscopy and (ii) to develop novel surface-normal devices using this material. Our optical spectroscopy measurements have formed some of the core literature references on GaInNAs materials’ science, including a highly-cited study of band-offsets (Appl. Phys. Lett., 76, 1030 (2000)). Our device demonstrations include VECSELs, fibre-VECSELs, vertical cavity amplifiers, semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors for laser mode-locking and slow-light components, many of which have been influenced by our “solid-state laser” perspective.
A recent summary of our device contributions is accessible here.
| 3. AlInGaN materials processing: microcavities and micro-LEDs |
| Our work on the MOVPE growth of gallium nitride structures is covered in detail in the GaN materials Team’s section. Our processing work has concentrated on two areas of gallium nitride micro-devices, and in both cases benefits from our experience with inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching. The first area, GaN microcavities, is aimed at fundamental light-matter coupling studies and the development of short-wavelength VCSEL and VECSEL technologies. We have explored the development of GaN microcavities by methods including: growth on patterned masks, processing of GaN-on-Si wafers, laser lift-off and homoepitaxial GaN-on-GaN growth using AlInN interlayers. |
| The second area, GaN micro-LEDs, is motivated by the potential use of these high-density arrays of micro-structured light-emitters in instrumentation and scientific applications. We have fabricated arrays of micro-disk, micro-ring and micro-stripe devices at wavelengths from the ultraviolet (370nm) to green (540nm), and operated them in parallel-addressed (all elements on) and matrix-addressed (individually addressable) formats. These devices are being explored for use in microscopy (sectioned imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging), lab-on-chip screening, genechip synthesis, light-patterned electrodes, mask-free lithography, and hybrid organic/inorganic LEDs. | ||
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| 64 x 64 micro-LED array | ||
Our team is currently involved in a major basic technology research project funded by the Research Council UK - click here for more information |
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| 4. Micro-optics | |
We are developing a range of micro-optical components in materials as diverse as sapphire, SiC, diamond and novel polymers. These include both spherical micro-lenses in positive and negative forms, and cylindrical micro-lenses. The polymer and sapphire lenses are being integrated with our gallium nitride micro-LED devices, to offer output beam manipulation and control. For a brief 4-slide pictorial overview of the broad range of materials research at the Institute, click here. |
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Collaboration
The team collaborates with a wide range of academic and industrial partners around the world.
Major academic partners include: Imperial College, Sheffield University, Heriot-Watt University, University of Glasgow, University of St. Andrews, Tampere University of Technology ( Finland), Chalmers University, TU-Berlin, University of Michigan, NRC Canada
Major industrial partners include/have included: IQE Ltd., Samsung, STS Ltd., BTG plc, Coherent, Osram, Infineon.
The group collaborates with a wide range of academic
and industrial partners, including:
University of Glasgow,
University of St. Andrews (Modular Ultrafast Sources for Integrated Control), Imperial
College, University
of Kaiserslautern, University
of Karlsruhe, University
of Gent, Sungkyunkwan
University (Korea).
Kamelian Ltd.,
IQE, Ltd., STS
Ltd., Samsung
Advanced Institute of Technology, Infineon
AG, Agilent, Ltd.,
Epichem Ltd., Coherent
(Scotland) Ltd., DERA.
| Research Team | Publications | |
| Professor Martin D.Dawson | Associate Director |
 |
| Dr. Erdan Gu | Team Leader | |
| Dr. Stephane Calvez | Associate Team Leader | |
| Dr. Shirong Jin | Researcher | |
| Dr. Jennifer Hastie | Associate Team Leader and Royal |
|
| Dr. Chris Griffin | Researcher | |
| Dr. David Massoubre | Researcher | |
| Dr. Haoxiang Zhang | Researcher | |
| Dr. Zheng Gong | Researcher | |
| Dr. Nicolas Laurand | Researcher | |
| Dr Hannah Foreman | Researcher | |
| PhD Students: | ||
| Stephanie Giet | ||
| Chee-Leong Lee | ||
| Lynne Morton | ||
| Min Wu | ||
| Antony Smith | ||
| Jonathan McKendry |
Former Ph.D students:
Mark Holm, Taek Kim, Roberto Macaluso, Jennifer Hastie, Antony Clark, Graeme Rice, Scott Smith, Chris Griffin, Nicolas LaurandFormer PDRA’s:
Pasquale Cusumano, Michael Hetterich, Hyeon-Soo Kim, Ki-Sung Kim, Chan-Wook Jeon, Hoi-Wai Choi, Myeong-Goo Cheong, Si-Hyun Kim
Current EPSRC Support (P)=Principal Investigator,
(C)=Co-Investigator, (R)=Recognised Researcher:
EP/E064450/1 Modular Ultrafast Sources (C)
EP/D078555/1 Semiconductor-based hybrid structures for ultraviolet micro-devices
(P)
EP/E006000/1 ADVANCED SOLID-STATE LASER SOURCES AND SYSTEMS (C)
EP/D062861/1 Nanometrology for Molecular Science, Medicine and Manufacture
(C)
GR/S85764/01 Basic Technology: A Thousand Micro-emitters Per Square Millimetre:
New Light On Organic Materials & Structures (P)
GR/S10636/01 Platform :Advanced Materials and Device Technology in Dilute
and Wide Bandgap III-Nitride Semiconductors (P)
Previous EPSRC Support (P)=Principal Investigator, (C)=Co-Investigator,
(R)=Recognised Researcher:
GR/S68811/01 Microchip & Visible External Cavity Surface-Emitting
Semiconductor Lasers (P)
GR/S80660/01 P3A: Photonics on the 06:30 shuttle (C)
GR/S29799/01 Femtosecond Pulse: Chalcogenide Crystal Lasers And Their
Application (R)
GR/R73768/01 Platform: General Engineering Platform Grant: Advanced high
power solid-state laser systems and applications (C)
GR/R40012/01 GaInNAs Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers for Future Optical
Networks ("GAINS") (P)
GR/R58581/01 Contribution towards postgraduate training and research support
role of QEP-15 (P)
GR/N65226/01 SINGLE FREQUENCY OPTICALLY PUMPED SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS FOR
HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY (C)
GR/N07868/01 GALLIUM NITRIDE VCSELS WITH BURIED DIELECTRIC BRAGG MIRRORS
(C)
GR/M98890/01 PHYSICAL-LAYER HIGH-SPEED OPTOELECTRONICS FOR TOMORROW'S
OPTICAL NETWORKS (PHOTON) (P)
GR/L80881/01 INGAASN QUANTUM WELL STRUCTURES FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS WAVELENGTH
VERTICAL-CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING LASERS (P)
GR/L32101/01 ELECTRICAL INJECTION PHOTONIC MICROSTRUCTURE DEVICES BASED
ON SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF (ALGA)AS (P)
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