Micromechanical optoelectronic switch and amplifier (MIMOSA)

We report for the first time the monolithic integration of a micromechanical modulator and a p-n photodiode on a silicon substrate yielding a versatile optoelectronic device. Because both devices are monolithically integrated on a silicon substrate, the combination is compact with minimal parasitic elements. We demonstrate that such a device combination fields a transistor-like element with positive and negative small-signal voltage amplification. The maximum small-signal voltage gain achieved is 500 while the modulated current of the device exhibits a maximum ON-OFF ratio of 3:1. In addition, while the theoretical current gain of the device is infinite, a 10-pA noise level limited the measured dc current gain to 10⁶