Homogeneous and heterogeneous integration of GaN-based light emitting diodes and driving transistors

Before optoelectronic integrated circuits and systems can be produced in high volumes and at low cost it will be necessary to develop for them monolithic integration techniques which can be executed on full wafers and in multiwafer lots. Monolithic processes are also essential to achieving the highest speed and performance from optoelectronic integrated circuits and to insuring robustness and high mechanical reliability. Hybrid techniques can satisfy many near-term needs for optoelectronic integrated circuits, but they involve a great deal of piecework and assembly, thereby increasing cost, introducing performance-limiting parasitics, and decreasing ruggedness. It is monolithic, full-wafer, batch-level processing of monolithic integration that must be the ultimate goal of any program promoting the commercial use of optoelectronics to solve problems in computation, signal processing, data analysis, and sensing. Homogeneous integration of GaN-based high electron mobility transistors and light emitting diodes (HEMT-LEDs) have been attracting more and more attentions over the past years due to their wide application in displays, smart lighting, and high frequency switching applications such as visible light communications.