Surface/interface engineering of InAs quantum dot edge-emitting diodes toward III-V/SiN photonic integration

We investigate the surface and interface engineering on InAs quantum dot (QD) emitters, by fabricating and measuring a series of edge-emitting light-emitting diodes. These diodes are encapsulated with non-stoichiometric silicon nitride (SiN) layers with various refractive indices. By analysing the optical and electrical characteristics, it is concluded that Si-rich SiN is an excellent candidate for both electrical and optical passisvations with reduced surface recombination. While the N-rich SiN deposited by the same method shows an improved device performance under optical pumping, the passivation does not appear to be as effective under electrical injection. Our findings provide important information related to the surface engineering of the interface between InAs QD stacks and non-stoichiometric SiN materials, which is arguably one of the crucial steps required to establish monolithic integration of InAs QD emitters with CMOS photonics components.