Micro-Transfer Printing of InGaAs/InP Avalanche Photodiode on Si Substrate

We report on the fabrication and micro-transfer printing of InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes onto silicon substrates. A process flow was developed to suspend the devices using semiconductor tethers. The devices were characterised in linear mode operation both before suspension and after printing. Despite the additional fabrication steps required and the physical nature of the micro-transfer printing process, the electrical characteristics of the devices were preserved and no degradation in the devices’ optical performance was measured. Our work represents the first demonstration of micro-transfer printing InGaA/InP avalanche photodiodes onto silicon substrates. The results highlight the viability of the micro-transfer printing for effective heterogeneous integration of InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes with silicon photonic integrated circuits for optical and quantum communication and other light detection applications.