On-chip infrared photonics with Si-Ge-heterostructures: What is next?

The integration of Ge on Si for photonics applications has reached a high level of maturity: Ge photodetectors are available on the Si platform in foundry processes, and Si/Ge heterostructure multiple quantum-well photodiodes are rapidly progressing toward applications in light modulation. These successes result from decades of development of high-quality material growth and integration, which, more recently, has sparked an increasingly broad field of photonic device research based on Si/Ge heterostructures that extends from quantum cascade lasers to sensors. Here, we highlight selected recent structure and device developments as well as possible future trends that are enabled by the maturity of the SiGe material platform.