Prototyping services from Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC) in III-V compound materials, supported by design kits and on-site CMC engineer, streamline prototyping nano-photonics via complex processes.
For early-stage prototyping in III-V materials, CMC provides access to CPFC foundry services at subsidized rates. The foundry grows epitaxial wafers on GaAs (see details below) and InP [link to CMC-00200-00417] substrates via Metal-Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD), supported by metrology services for quality assurance. Custom processes applied on a case-by-case basis realize the desired geometry and functionality.
GaAs Substrate Process Details:
• Epitaxy (lattice matched): GaAs, AlGaAs, AlAs, InGaAsP
• Dopant: p-type (C, Zn), n-type (Si)
• Substrate Characteristics: Crystal orientation: (100)
• Dimension: 2”(7 wafers/run), 3”(3 wafers/run), 4” (1 wafer/run), 6” (1 wafer/run)
• Dopant: n-type; S.I.GaAs substrate
Note: Some substrate sizes may not be in stock
Lithography Services:
• I-line 5x Stepper:
Minimum feature size of 0.4μm (diffraction limit)
Overlay tolerance of 70nm
• Contact lithography for large feature sizes
• E-beam lithography (limited availability)
III-V Custom Processes:
As guidelines, the following are currently in place and available to CMC clients. Project feasibility is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• Passive waveguides:
o Typically formed through maximum two-step etching process
• Ridge waveguide-type active devices:
o Fabry-Perot (F-P) laser process
o Semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)/Superluminescent light
emitting diode (SLED) process
o Distributed feedback (DFB) laser process
o Electroabsorption modulator (EAM) process
• Buried Hetero-structure waveguide type active (limited availability)
o Fabry-Perot (F-P) laser process
Epitaxy-Specific Metrology:
• In-situ reflectance growth rate monitoring and optical pyrometry
• Double crystal X-ray diffraction (single point and mapping)
• Photoluminescence (PL) and reflectance (R) mapping
• Surfscan™ (for defect counting and mapping)
• Electrochemical (Polaron) profiling
• Hall effect
• Nomarski surface inspection
• SEM, AUGER, SIMS, TEM, AFM, STEM
Typically Requested Epitaxy Metrology:
• Photoluminescence (PL) map (Resolution 0.2 mm)
• Double crystal X-ray diffraction (single point and mapping)
• Electrochemical (Polaron) profiling
• Surfscan™ (for defect counting and mapping)
Note: Analysis done on calibration structures and/or actual wafers