Epitaxial bonding and transfer for heterogeneous integration of electronic-photonic circuitry

A process that enables the formation of III-V photonic devices on CMOS-compatible silicon for the integration of a photonic logic system is demonstrated. III-V epitaxial structures are assembled on a silicon carrier wafer using commercially available temporary-bonding polymers, allowing for the distribution of distinct materials suitable for fabricating a photonic device network. These epitaxial layers are etched into precisely located geometric islands that can align with features in a CMOS-compatible host wafer. Epitaxial transfer then unites this array of islands onto the host wafer permanently by a metal-assisted eutectic bonding process. This process is shown with GaAs wafers to demonstrate the scalable formation of heterogeneous material layouts using a single epitaxial transfer such that fine alignment of devices can be constructed from the transferred III-V islands in unison.