Information society technologies

B.2 Relevance to the objectives of the IST Priority
The propsed programme of NoE entitled “Dilute Nitride-Arsenide-Materials for Innovative

Technologies” (DiNAMITe) addresses the strategic objective 2.3.2.2 “Optical, opto-electronic, and photonic functional components” in the second call of the IST Priority (FP6/2003/IST/2).
It is designed to strengthen scientific and technological excellence of European research and is concerned with the following major issues listed in the IST objectives

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  “networking together the critical mass of resources;
  
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  “networking the expertise needed to provide European leadership;
  
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  It will “spread excellence beyond the boundaries of its partnership”
  
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  It will also “contribute directly to European policies for the knowledge society and the e-Europe Action Plan”
  

“In order to ensure concentration of effort and critical mass…” the project is “ focussed on the set of Strategic Objectives to mobilise researchers Europe-wide and bring together the effort necessary to address the relevant challenges” DiNAMITe activities are dirctly relevant to New Technology components as identified in the following Strategic Objective of the IST programme: “To reinforce European strengths in areas where it has established industrial and technology leadership…”

DiNAMITe focuses on new “advanced semiconductor compounds” with a wide range of “applications in advanced solid-state light sources to increase compactness, tunability and brightness ultra-short pulse, microcavities and source array technologies” Jump to content
DiNAMNITe NoE aims at encompassing the full device potential of novel and exciting family of metastable semiconductors, including III-N-As, III-N-P and III-N-Sb materials and covering specific alloys including the following, whose approximate bandgap wavelength ranges are shown in brackets: InNP/InP (0.9 - 1.0 m), InNAs/InGaAs/InP (2 - 3 m), GaInNP/GaAs (0.7 - 0.85 m), GaAsN/GaAs (0.85 - 1.2 m), GaInNAs/GaAs (1.2 - 1.6 m), InGaAsN/InGaAsP/InP (1.2 - 2 m) , GaPN/GaP (0.6 - 0.7 m), and InNSb/GaAs (10 - 15 m). Based on this wide range of available wavelengths Many applications in areas listed in the IST objectives “medicine, environmental sensing and communications” can be addressed.
In addition to EELs and SOAs, Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs), Vertical External Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VECSELs), Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (VCSOAs), and Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirrors (SESAMs) are of increasing importance for the Specific objectives within the of the IST programme 2.3.2.2 Optical, opto-electronic, and photonic functional components domain : “the development of advanced materials… micro, solid-state sources and …optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEIC)…”

DiNAMITe also addresses “research challenges..in… telecommunication and infotainment (components for “low-cost high-bandwidth” and “Terabyte storage”), …….and “Environment and Security” (photonic sensors and imagers)”

Finally | DiNAMITe aims at achieving world leadership in the field through integration, joint activities and spreading excellene in the European Research Area (ERA) as well as aiming to “increase innovation and competitiveness in European businesses and industry and to contribute to greater benefits for all European citizens”

B.3 Potential impact

3.1 Current status
Research in dilute nitrides for applications in electronics and photonics is currently a very hot topic worldwide. The potential of these materials for novel devices with enhanced performance and novel functionality is internationally recognised. Thus the DiNAMITe NoE focuses on a scientific area that is of high strategic importance for the development of European technological capability. In the short/medium term the development of optoelectronic devices in the 1.3 – 1.55 mm window is important for data communications. Although the telecommunications sector is currently operating in very difficult economic circumstances, it is widely accepted within the industry that optical communications remains the way forward and so interest in, and support for, work on new devices and materials is still very strong. Looking further ahead there are far-reaching and potentially extremely important application areas for dilute nitrides in many other fields, for example THz devices for sensing and medicine, optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) for signal processing and defence, and the development of III-V materials grown on silicon with the promise of further electronic/photonic integration. From the scientific point of view, new knowledge on this previously unexplored class of highly mismatched semiconductors is also of great value. So the topic has a dynamic life span with an immediate device requirement as well as the need for a durable integration.

Within Europe many research groups are active in dilute nitrides and scientific excellence has been amply demonstrated so that European leadership in the topic of the NoE is within reach. However, with the exception of a few of the largest players, each group tends to focus on specialist topics within the areas of growth, characterisation, devices and theory/modelling. Over the last few years, informal collaborations have evolved organically, primarily based on supply of materials and devices, and availability of specialist measurement techniques and equipment. Within Europe these research groups, mostly members of DiNAMITe, are fairly successful in attracting funding from national agencies, but there is as yet little formal collaboration between the groups. It is the problems of fragmentation and lack of resources to tackle major research issues or application domains within the existing structure that motivates the NoE. The DiNAMITe consortium will aim to build collaborative activities and unleash the full European potential in dilute nitrides by exploiting the synergy in the national research activities. Without this collaboration European research in the subject will fall behind that in the USA and Japan where massive co-ordinated R&D programmes can be deployed. A particular strength of the DiNAMITe NoE is the direct industrial involvement of large companies (e.g. Infineon where 1.3 mm VCSELs are already in production) and many SMEs, with the promise of delivery and commercialisation of real devices in the foreseeable future