A novel high-speed silicon MSM photodetector operating at 830 nm wavelength

A novel high-speed silicon photodetector that operates at a wavelength of 830 nm is reported. It consists of a Metal-Semiconductor-Metal (MSM) detector that is fabricated on a 5-μm thick silicon membrane. The detector has a measured -3 dB bandwidth of 3 GHz at 10 V, which is almost one order of magnitude larger than the reported bandwidth of conventional silicon MSM detectors as measured at 830 nm. The DC responsivity is 0.17 A/W, corresponding to an internal quantum efficiency of 60.5% and an external quantum efficiency of 25.4%. The large bandwidth and good responsivity at the wavelength of interest, combined with its low operating voltage and compatibility with most silicon integrated circuit technologies, make this detector a promising candidate for monolithic optoelectronic receiver circuits for use in short distance optical communication systems and computer interconnects.