Membrane-type photonic integration of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well diodes and waveguide

We report here a membrane-type integration of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well diodes (MQWDs) with a waveguide to build a highly integrated photonic system to perform functionalities on a GaN-on-silicon platform. Suspended MQWDs can be used as either for light-emitting diode (LED) or photodiode. In the fabricated photonic system, part of the LED emission is coupled into a suspended waveguide, and the guided light laterally propagates along the waveguide and is finally sensed by the photodiode. The photonic system can detect the in-plane guided light and the external incident light simultaneously. Planar optical communication experimentally demonstrates that the proof-of-concept monolithic photonic integration system can achieve the in-plane visible light communication. This work paves the way towards novel active electro-optical sensing systems and planar optical communication in the visible range.