The Silicon-Sapphire Breakup
Traditionally, LEDs are fabricated by growing heterostructures on either sapphire or silicon carbide substrates, but each of these has its own set of problems. Sapphire provides a poor lattice match and low thermal conductivity, silicon carbide is expensive, and both are difficult to dice. Naturally, this leads to the quest for a suitable replacement.
A group from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., looked at silicon as a possible solution. It is fairly inexpensive, easily diced and...
Photonics Spectra, November 2008