INP - THE BASIC MATERIAL OF INTEGRATED OPTOELECTRONICS FOR FIBER COMMUNICATION-SYSTEMS

The low-loss and the favorable dispersion characteristics of silica monomode fibers for wavelength of 1.3-mu-m and 1.55-mu-m have selected the materials for sources and detectors in terms of epitaxial layers of Ga(1-x)In(x)As(1-y)P(y) lattice matched to InP substrates. InP has in addition also remarkable electronic properties and is also used as an active material for various types of electronic devices (FETs). However, to make this technological conception with a combination of sophisticated optoelectronic and electronic devices reliable and effective for optical fiber communication, it is absolutely necessary to work towards integration, i.e., optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs). The fabrication of these OEICs needs large diameter wafers with a high resistivity (semi-insulating material) and with a high material quality which is presently not available. The paper discusses the requirements concerning the physical properties of the InP-material and gives a perspective in how far these requirements can be met in the near future by the various InP crystal growth methods.