A selective epitaxial SiGe/Si planar photodetector for Si-based OEIC´s

A P-i-N SiGe/Si superlattice photodetector with a planar structure has been developed for Si-based opto-electronic integrated circuits. To make the planar structure, a novel SiGe/Si selective epitaxial growth technology which uses cold wall ultrahigh-vacuum/chemical vapor deposition has been newly developed. The P-i-N planar SiGe/Si photodetector has an undoped 30-Å Si_0.9Ge_0.1/320-Å Si, 30 periods, superlattice absorption layer, a 0.1-μm P-Si buffer layer, and a 0.2-μm P⁺-Si contact layer on a bonded silicon-on-insulator (η_ext). The bonded SOI is used to increase the external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of the photodetector. Moreover, a 63-μm deep/128-μm wide trench, to achieve simple and stable coupling of an optical fiber to the photodetector, is formed in the silicon chip. The P-i-N planar photodetector exhibits a high η_ext of 25-29% with a low dark current of 0.5 pA/μm² and a high-frequency photo response of 10.5 GHz at λ=0.98 μm