Hybrid laser with amorphous bonding layer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12548973-B2
Application number	US-202117467747-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2021
Priority date	Sep 7, 2021
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

Described herein are IC devices that include hybrid lasers formed with a bonding layer. Hybrid lasers include an active light-emitting region coupled to a waveguide. In a hybrid laser, the waveguide and the light-emitting regions are formed separately from different materials, e.g., the waveguide is a single-crystal silicon, and the light-emitting region includes III-V semiconductors. An amorphous group IV material, such as silicon or germanium, is advantageously used to bond the light-emitting region to the waveguide.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A hybrid laser comprising:
a waveguide layer comprising a waveguide formed of a substantially monocrystalline material; a light-emitting layer comprising a III-V semiconductor material; and a bonding layer between the waveguide layer and the light-emitting layer, the bonding layer comprising a group IV material having a lower crystallinity than the waveguide, wherein the bonding layer comprises a seam running parallel to the waveguide layer and the light-emitting layer.

2 . The hybrid laser of claim 1 , wherein the bonding layer comprises amorphous silicon.

3 . The hybrid laser of claim 1 , wherein the bonding layer comprises amorphous germanium.

4 . The hybrid laser of claim 1 , wherein the bonding layer has a thickness between 10 nanometers and 100 nanometers.

5 . The hybrid laser of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first electrical contact coupled to an active portion of the light-emitting layer; and a second electrical contact and a third electrical contact on either side of the active portion of the light-emitting layer.

6 . The hybrid laser of claim 5 , wherein the second electrical contact and the third electrical contact are formed over and coupled to the waveguide layer.

7 . An integrated circuit (IC) device comprising:
a first layer comprising a waveguide formed of a substantially monocrystalline material; a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor material; and a bonding layer between the first layer and the second layer, the bonding layer comprising a group IV material having a lower crystallinity than the first layer, wherein the bonding layer has a seam running parallel to the first layer and the second layer.

8 . The IC device of claim 7 , wherein the bonding layer comprises amorphous silicon.

9 . The IC device of claim 7 , wherein the bonding layer comprises amorphous germanium.

10 . The IC device of claim 7 , wherein the bonding layer has a thickness between 10 nanometers and 100 nanometers.

11 . The IC device of claim 7 , wherein the substantially monocrystalline material comprises silicon.

12 . The IC device of claim 7 , wherein the substantially monocrystalline material comprises germanium.

13 . The IC device of claim 7 , wherein the waveguide has a grain size of at least 5 nanometers.

14 . The IC device of claim 7 , further comprising:
a first electrical contact coupled to an active region of the second layer; and a second electrical contact and a third electrical contact on either side of the active region of the second layer.

15 . The IC device of claim 14 , wherein the second electrical contact and the third electrical contact are coupled to a semiconductor layer extending between the second electrical contact and the third electrical contact.

16 . The IC device of claim 14 , wherein the second electrical contact and the third electrical contact are formed over and coupled to the first layer.

17 . A method for fabricating an integrated circuit (IC) device comprising:
forming a first layer comprising a waveguide, the waveguide formed of a substantially monocrystalline material; forming a second layer comprising a III-V semiconductor material; and bonding the first layer and the second layer with a bonding material, the bonding material comprising a group IV material having a lower crystallinity than the waveguide, wherein the bonding material comprises a seam running parallel to the first layer and the second layer.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein bonding the first layer and the second layer comprises:
depositing a first portion of the bonding material to a first face of the first layer; depositing a second portion of the bonding material to a second face of the second layer; and contacting the first face of the first layer to the second face of the second layer.

19 . The hybrid laser of claim 1 , wherein the bonding layer comprises different materials on either side of the seam.

20 . The hybrid laser of claim 1 , wherein the bonding layer comprises a same bonding material on either side of the seam.

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Heck John
• Fischer Paul B

Classifications

• H01S5/0215

  Bonding to the substrate · CPC title

• H01S5/021

  Silicon based substrates · CPC title

• G02B6/12004

  Combinations of two or more optical elements · CPC title

• G02B2006/12121

  Laser · CPC title

• G02B2006/121

  Channel; buried or the like · CPC title