Speaker: Dr. Carlos Augusto, Co-Founder and CTO, Quantum Semiconductor

In-Person Meeting. Register: Here

New CMOS-Compatible Materials for Efficient Infrared Light-Absorption and Emission

Efficient photon absorption and emission require semiconductors with direct bandgaps. Si and SiGe have indirect bandgaps and the wavelength range is determined by their bulk properties. Using proprietary ab-initio modeling, Quantum Semiconductor has invented atomistically-ordered superlattices made of Group IV elements (C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb) strained to silicon surfaces, that have direct bandgaps across the infrared spectrum, and that can be monolithically integrated with CMOS. This approach overcomes the limitations of pure silicon devices – sensing light outside the visible range of wavelengths, and light emission. Also, the photon collection process is decoupled from CMOS junction engineering, thereby allowing these devices to track Moore’s Law with each new design generation, as well as use the most advanced substrates for state-of-the-art CMOS such as fully depleted thin-film SOI. This CMOS-compatible technology platform enables innovative new products for IR image sensing, photonics, and AI.

Read more: https://quantumsemi.com/

About the Author:

Carlos Augusto, Ph.D., is a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer of Quantum Semiconductor. A prolific inventor, he is responsible for Quantum Semiconductor’s core technology. Dr. Augusto has been in the semiconductor industry for over 25 years. Previously, he was at IMEC in Leuven, Belgium where he was a member of the research staff in the Advanced Silicon Devices Group and worked on the device, process, modeling and fabrication of SiGe Vertical MOSFETs and DRAMs. After IMEC, Dr. Augusto was recruited by Rockwell Semiconductor in Newport Beach, California and moved to the United States where he was in the Advanced Process Development Group and worked on device and process integration architecture development.
     Carlos has a BSc. in Physics from the Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, M.S. in Physics of Microelectronics and Materials Science, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a specialty in device physics from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He is the author or co-author of 32 granted and 2 pending US patents, covering Advanced CMOS devices and fabrication architectures, SiGeC Photo-Diodes and CMOS pixel designs and image-sensors, Group-IV superlattices and optoelectronic devices incorporating them.