Direct epitaxial growth of silicon on GaAs by low temperature epitaxy

Efficient integration of III-V on silicon has been one of the most material science sought-after goal, for decades, since it can have huge impact on photonics, microelectronics and photovoltaic research and industry. Here we present an original approach where silicon is epitaxially grown on GaAs by low temperature plasma enhanced CVD. Without ultra-high vacuum and keeping temperature below 200°C, both GaAs surface cleaning and subsequent heteroepitaxial growth are achieved, and monitored by in-situ ellipsometry. Optical and TEM characterization reveal high crystal quality despite lattice mismatch. Single junction diodes are built to investigate interface electrical properties.