Revisiting Impurity Doping of III-Nitride Materials for Photonic Device Applications

Abstract

More than 20 years have passed since the first reports of rare earth doping silicon and other semiconductor materials for photonic applications. The basic goal of this work has been to achieve optoelectronic functionality in silicon integrated circuits for telecommunications. Over this period of time, many novel approaches and various materials have been investigated. While progress has been sporadic and the basic goal illusive, impurity doping of III-Nitride materials has provided some of the major advances. In this talk I will present a review of recent results concerning rare earth doping of III-Nitride thin films for telecommunication and display applications. In particular, the optical characterization of such films and the performance of prototype light emitting diodes will be reviewed. Reports on the ferromagnetic properties of impurity doped III-Nitride films and the possibility of achieving optical or electrical control.