Material Science and Device Physics of III-V Semiconductors on Arbitrary Substrates

Pushing the boundaries of electron devices—from transistors to photovoltaics—demands complete control over device architectures and material systems. However, traditional growth and fabrication techniques often fall short when optimal design calls for non-planar geometries or integration of non-epitaxial material systems.

Thus, development of techniques for X-on-Y growth and integration, such as: (i) bottom-up growth of geometry and shape-controlled nanowires, (ii) integration of dissimilar material systems such as III-V’s and Si, and (iii) direct growth of high-quality semiconductors on metals are critical. In this talk, I discuss how semiconductor layer transfer techniques can be used to fabricate high-mobility III-V transistors on Si substrates, and the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mode can be used to grow templated nanowires and high-quality InP thin films directly on metal foils. 

Specifically, I will cover three methods that move towards enabling X-on-Y. First, I will show a compound semiconductor on insulator (XOI) layer transfer technique that enables integration of free-standing, ultra-thin III-V membranes on Si substrates. The second method is a templated VLS nanowire growth technique for 3-D semiconductor structures on metal substrates. The last technique I illustrate is a thin-film vapor-liquid-solid growth technique for the direct growth of both polycrystalline and single crystalline InP on non-epitaxial substrates.