Researcher(M/F) – Development of Plasma Etching Processes for III-V Lasers for Silicon Photonic Integration

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Laboratoire des technologies de la microélectronique Research Field Engineering Physics Technology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Application Deadline 9 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

This work is carried out within the framework of the IRT Nanoelec project, which aims to bring a 300 mm CMOS-compatible integrated photonics platform to technological maturity.
In this context, one of the key technological challenges is the plasma patterning of the complex III-V semiconductor stack forming the laser and transferred onto a 300 mm substrate by molecular bonding. A simplified example of the laser structure is:
InP (4 µm) / GaAlInAs quantum wells (400 nm) / InP contact layer (200 nm) / Si substrate
The objective of the project is to develop a plasma etching process for this multilayer stack, enabling selective etch stopping on the InP contact layer, which is currently the main technological challenge, while achieving anisotropic laser sidewalls without lateral degradation of the quantum wells.
Pulsed plasma technologies, known to improve etch selectivity between materials and minimize plasma-induced damage, will be evaluated as part of this study.
To achieve this objective, it will be necessary to understand the etching mechanisms of the different materials involved in chlorine-based plasma chemistries, as well as the mechanisms enabling selective etching of InGaAlAs over InP.

Plasma etching processes will be developed on the LTM 300 mm etching reactor, equipped with pulsed plasma technology and located in the CEA/Leti cleanroom facilities. The candidate will also have access to a wide range of material characterization techniques.

The work will involve:

1. Investigating the etching mechanisms and selectivity of InP and InGaAlAs films as a function of plasma parameters using ellipsometry, XPS and AFM.
2. Developing an etching process for the multilayer stack meeting the required selectivity and damage criteria, with characterization by FIB-STEM and EDX.
3. Disseminating the results through scientific publications and conference presentations.
4. Transferring the developed processes to CEA/Leti. The studies will be conducted in close collaboration with CEA/Leti. If the morphological results are satisfactory, the developed processes will be integrated into optical demonstrator lots, enabling the performance of the patterned lasers to be evaluated.

This work will be carried out at the Laboratoire des Technologies de la Microélectronique (LTM), a joint research laboratory of CNRS and Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) (UMR 5129), located at the CEA-LETI-MINATEC site in Grenoble, France.
Approximately 100 people work at LTM, including 30 researchers and faculty members, 18 engineers and technicians, 31 PhD students and 16 postdoctoral researchers.
The laboratory's activities lie at the interface between fundamental academic research and industrial research. Over the years, LTM has established several direct partnerships with major players in the micro- and nanoelectronics industry, including STMicroelectronics in Crolles, France, and Applied Materials in Santa Clara, USA.
The candidate will join the PROSPECT team at LTM. The team focuses on the development of innovative processes and materials for advanced nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Technical skills:
Plasma etching and wet etching processes; material characterization (XPS, ellipsometry, AFM, electron microscopy).
Additional skills:
Written and spoken English; Python programming.