Ultracompact Position-Controlled InP Nanopillar LEDs on Silicon with Bright Electroluminescence at Telecommunication Wavelengths

Highly compact III-V compound semiconductor active nanophotonic devices integrated with silicon are important for future low power optical interconnects. One approach toward realizing heterogeneous integration and miniaturization of photonic devices is through nanowires/nanopillars grown directly on silicon substrates. However, to realize their full potential, the integration of nanowires/nanopillars with silicon-based electronics must be made scalable via precise control of nanopillar site and dimensions. Here we demonstrate the first electrical-pumped InGaAs/InP multiquantum-well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LED) using nanopillar array directly grown on a Si substrate with site control, with current conduction directly through the silicon. The growth is via catalyst-free, low temperature metal organic chemical vapor deposition, which is CMOS compatible. We report excellent optical properties including long minority carrier lifetimes and room-temperature lasing under optical pumping. InGaAs/InP quantum wells are incorporated in the nanopillars in a core shell growth mode, to obtain silicon transparent emission of similar to 1510 nm with high internal quantum efficiency (similar to 30%). Despite its small footprint, high output power (4 mu W) was measured, and the device could be electrically biased to produce optical gain. CMOS-compatible site controlled growth and electrically driven long-wavelength emission make the InP nano-LED an ideal component in advanced photonic integrated circuits.