On-chip neural interface devices based on CMOS image sensor technology are proposed and demonstrated. The devices were designed with target applications to optogenetics in bioscience. Multifunctional CMOS image sensors equipped with an addressable on-chip electrode array were integrated with a functional interface chip that contained embedded GaInN light emitting diodes (LEDs) and electrodes to create a neural interface. Detailed design information regarding the CMOS sensor chip and the functional interface chip including the packaging structure and fabrication processes are presented in this paper. The on-chip optical stimulation functionality was demonstrated in an in vitro experiment using neuron-like cells cultured on the proposed device.

A GaInNAs alloy on GaAs substrate has been very promising for long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) as an active layer. In spite of many groups reported the excellent temperature characteristics of the threshold current of the GaInNAs/GaAs edge-emitting lasers, discussions of the temperature dependence of the lasing characteristics except threshold current is few. In this paper, temperature characteristics of GaInNAs lasers grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) emitting at λ=1.27 µm and λ=1.30 µm were investigated in detail. The characteristic temperature (T0) ranging from 10 to 80 varies from 60 to 130 K and decreased with decreasing cavity length for shorter cavity (< 400 µm) devices. On the other hand, longer cavity (< 400 µm) devices show that the cavity length does not affect so much to T0. The internal losses did not increase with increasing temperature. On the other hand, internal quantum efficiencies decreased with increasing temperature. It is considered that non-radiative recombination center with large temperature dependence may influence the decrease of the internal quantum efficiency due to the insufficient crystal quality of GaInNAs layer. The transparency current densities were unchanged for all temperature range, however, the gain constants decreased with increasing temperature. Thus, the decrease of the gain constant is considered to be due to decreasing of gain. Unchanged both transparency current density and internal loss may also express that these temperature characteristics were not induced by carrier overflow but be done by decreasing of the gain. From the results, it is considered that the temperature dependence of the gain originated from the Fermi-Dirac distribution of carriers was dominant for the temperature characteristics of GaInNAs/GaAs lasers. Due to the temperature dependence on the gain, the T0 decreases with increasing mirror loss.

We report here on the electrical and structural characteristics of InGaP/GaInAsN DHBTs with up to a 50 mV reduction in turn-on voltage relative to standard InGaP/GaAs HBTs. High p-type doping levels ( 3 1019 cm-3) and dc current gain (βmax up to 100) are achieved in GaInAsN base layer structures ranging in base sheet resistance between 250 and 750 Ω/. The separate effects of a base-emitter conduction band spike and base layer energy-gap on turn-on voltage are ascertained by comparing the collector current characteristics of several different GaAs-based bipolar transistors. Photoluminescence measurements are made on the InGaP/GaInAsN DHBTs to confirm the base layer energy gap, and double crystal x-ray diffraction spectrums are used to assess strain levels in the GaInAsN base layer.

Our recent progress in improving the performance of the GaInNAs laser is fully reviewed here. We improved the crystal quality of GaInNAs by optimizing the conditions for its grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using N radicals as a N source. We found that the temperature window for obtaining GaInNAs with high crystal quality, good surface morphology, and good photoluminescence (PL) characteristics is smaller than that for obtaining this kind of GaInAs. Like dopant atoms such as Si or Be in GaAs, the N radicals produced by an RF discharge have a high sticking coefficient. Their use is therefore effective when we want to increase and control the N content of GaInNAs. We found that the AsH3-flow-rate mainly affected crystal quality of GaInNAs rather than incorporation of nitrogen atoms. We also investigated the effects of thermal annealing on the optical properties of as-grown GaInNAs layers and found that it greatly increased the PL intensity and produced the large shift in the PL wavelength. The absorption spectra of the GaInNAs bulk layer revealed that the large shift in the PL wavelength is probably caused by a bandgap shift in the GaInNAs well layer, and cathodeluminescence measurements revealed that the increased PL intensity is due to the improved emission being more uniform spatially: uniformity from the entire region; in comparison, nonuniform dot-like regions exist in an as-grown GaInNAs layer. Optimizing the growth conditions and using thermal annealing effect, we made a 1.3-µm GaInNAs/GaAs single-quantum-well laser that has a high characteristic temperature (215 K) under pulsed operation. To our knowledge, this is the highest characteristic temperature reported for a 1.3-µm band-edge emitter suitable for used in optical-fiber communication systems. The use of GaInNAs as an active layer is, therefore, very promising for the fabrication of long-wavelength laser diodes with excellent high-temperature performance.

Investigations were carried out on metalorganic-chemical-vapor-deposition (MOCVD)-grown strained AlGaN/ GaN/sapphire structures using X-ray diffratometry. While AlGaN with lower AlN molar fraction (< 0.1) is under the in-plane compressive stress, it is under the in-plane tensile stress with high AlN molar fraction (> 0.1). Though tensile stress caused the cracks in AlGaN layer with high AlN molar fraction, we found that the cracks dramatically reduced when the GaN layer quality was not good. Using this technique, we fabricated a GaInN multi-quantum-well (MQW) surface emitting diodes were fabricated on 15 pairs of AlGaN/GaN distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) structures. The reflectivity of 15 pairs of AlGaN/GaN DBR structure has been shown as 75% at 435 nm. Considerably higher output power (1.5 times) has been observed for DBR based GaInN MQW LED when compared with non-DBR based MQW structures.