GaAs nano-ridge laser diodes fully fabricated in a 300-mm CMOS pilot line.

Silicon photonics is a rapidly developing technology that promises to revolutionize the way we communicate, compute and sense the world. However, the lack of highly scalable, native complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-integrated light sources is one of the main factors hampering its widespread adoption. Despite considerable progress in hybrid and heterogeneous integration of III-V light sources on silicon, monolithic integration by direct epitaxy of III-V materials remains the pinnacle of cost-effective on-chip light sources.

From Corn Starch to Nanostructured Magnetic Laser-Induced Graphene Nanocomposite.

Laser-Induced Graphene (LIG) is a 3D, conductive, porous material with a high surface area, produced by laser irradiation of synthetic polymers with high thermal stability. Recently, the focus has shifted toward sustainable bioderived and biodegradable precursors, such as lignocellulosic materials. Despite starch being an abundant and cost-effective biopolymer, direct laser scribing on starch-derived precursors has not yet been explored.

InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridge laser with an amorphous silicon grating monolithically grown on a 300 mm Si wafer.

The monolithic growth of direct-bandgap III-V materials directly on a Si substrate is a promising approach for the fabrication of complex silicon photonic integrated circuits including light sources and amplifiers. It remains challenging to realize practical, reliable, and efficient light emitters due to misfit defect formation during the epitaxial growth. Exploiting nano-ridge engineering (NRE), III-V nano-ridges with high crystal quality were achieved based on aspect ratio defect trapping inside narrow trenches.

Memory Effect by Melt Crystallization Observed in Polymorphs of a Benzothieno-Benzothiophene Derivative.

This work provides a comprehensive illustration of a crystalline melt memory effect recorded for three solvates of the 2,7-bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)benzo[]benzo[4,5] thieno[2,3-]thiophene (OEG-BTBT) molecule with dichloromethane (DCM) molecules. Combined optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements at different temperatures are used to get an overview of the structural and morphological properties like melting points, isotropic transition temperatures, induction times, and crystallization kinetics of the three forms. An outstanding observation is made upon annealing the three polymorphs at temperatures well above their respective melting points as well as above the optical clearance temperature.