Photonic silicon on a transparent substrate

Abstract

A light emitting photonic structure has a transparent substrate, such as sapphire, supporting a layer of group IV semiconductor material, such as silicon, having at least one porous region from which light is emitted as a response to an electrical or optical stimulus. Optionally, the group IV semiconductor material may be germanium, carbon, tin, silicon-germanium, silicon carbide, single crystal structures, polycrystalline structures, or amorphous structures and the transparent substrate may be glass, quartz, fused silica, diamond, ruby, yttria alumina garnet, yttria stabilized zirconium, magnesium fluoride or magnesium oxide. When the stimulus is electrical, the response is electroluminescence or cathodoluminescence and when the stimulus is optical, the response is photoluminescence. The method includes providing a transparent substrate, forming a layer of a group IV semiconductor material on the transparent substrate, and fabricating at least one region in the layer of the group IV semiconductor material from which light is emitted as a response to a electro- or photo-stimulus. The fabricating of the region is by a photochemical etch by an etching solution and a means to catalyze an etching reaction and may further include an illuminating of the region with light or an other suitable wavelength to provide for a photo-initiated photo-chemical stain etch of the region.