Perspectives on electrically pumped Ge/SiGe QW emitters at THz frequencies

Abstract

The realization of a Ge/SiGe THz emitter is of great interest since it can help to reach room-temperature operation due to the peculiar electron-phonon interaction in nonpolar crystals. Here we present Ge/SiGe quantum-well building blocks epitaxially grown on silicon wafers in order to understand limitations of this material platform in the perspective of realizing a Si-based laser.