  The heteroepitaxy of III-V semiconductors on silicon is a promising approach
for making silicon a photonic platform for on-chip optical interconnects and
quantum optical applications. Monolithic integration of both material systems
is a long-time challenge, since different material properties lead to high
defect densities in the epitaxial layers. In recent years, nanostructures
however have shown to be suitable for successfully realising light emitters on
silicon, taking advantage of their geometry. Facet edges and sidewalls can
minimise or eliminate the formation of dislocations, and due to the reduced
contact area, nanostructures are little affected by dislocation networks. Here
we demonstrate the potential of indium phosphide quantum dots as efficient
light emitters on CMOS-compatible silicon substrates, with luminescence
characteristics comparable to mature devices realised on III-V substrates. For
the first time, electrically driven single-photon emission on silicon is
presented, meeting the wavelength range of silicon avalanche photo diodes'
highest detection efficiency.
