49 results about "Waveguide photodetector" patented technology

A germanium on silicon waveguide photodetector disposed on a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. The photodetector is incorporated into a section of a planar silicon waveguide on the substrate. The photodetector generates an electric current as an infrared optical signal travels through the photodetector.

High-speed optoelectronic devices having a waveguide densely integrated with and efficiently coupled to a photodetector are fabricated utilizing methods generally compatible with CMOS processing techniques. In various implementations, the waveguide consists essentially of single-crystal silicon and the photodetector contains, or consists essentially of, epitaxially grown germanium or a silicon-germanium alloy having a germanium concentration exceeding about 90%.

The present invention is a waveguide photodetector. In one embodiment, the waveguide photodetector includes a waveguide layer where light is guided or is confined and a detection layer formed on the waveguide layer where guided light is detected. Each of the waveguide layer and the detection layer allows for the guiding of no more than a single mode of light for a given polarization. In another embodiment, the waveguide photodetector includes a waveguide layer where light is guided or is confined, a detection layer formed on the waveguide layer where guided light is detected, a first electrical contact coupled to the detection layer, and a second electrical contact coupled to the detection layer. The first electrical contact and the second electrical contact are disposed in a spaced-apart, substantially parallel manner relative to each other.

The invention discloses a method for monolithic integration of active devices within passive semiconductor waveguides and the application of this method for use in InP-based planar wavelength division multiplexing components of optical communication systems. The epitaxial device is grown in a single run and comprises a number of layers, such that the lower part of the structure acts as a single mode passive waveguide while the upper part of the structure contains a planar PIN diode. The PIN structure is present only in the active waveguide portion and absent in all the passive waveguide portions. The active and passive waveguide portions have substantially similar guiding properties with the exception of a mode tail above a top surface of the passive waveguide portion within the active waveguide portion. As a result, an optical signal portion penetrates the I-layer of the PIN structure and interacts with semiconductor material therein for actively affecting an intensity of the optical signal with no substantial changes in guiding properties of the semiconductor waveguide. Embodiments of invention in the form of monolithically integrated waveguide photodetector, electro-absorptive attenuator and semiconductor optical amplifier are disclosed in terms of detailed epitaxial structure, layout and performance characteristics of the device.

High-speed optoelectronic devices having a waveguide densely integrated with and efficiently coupled to a photodetector are fabricated utilizing methods generally compatible with CMOS processing techniques. In various implementations, the waveguide consists essentially of single-crystal silicon and the photodetector contains, or consists essentially of, epitaxially grown germanium or a silicon-germanium alloy having a germanium concentration exceeding about 90%.

A 1×N fanout waveguide detector is disclosed. The detector includes a multiple-mode interference (MMI) cavity with input and output ends. A single-mode waveguide is optically coupled to the input end of the MMI cavity so that the optical power in the guided mode is distributed over N modes. The MMI cavity forms N interference nodes at or near its output end. N waveguide detectors are optically coupled to the output end at or near the N interference nodes. The waveguide detectors each have a waveguide that is evanescently coupled to an intrinsic region of a PIN detector. The width of the detector waveguide core, which can be sub-micron, defines the carrier collection distance between the electrodes of the PIN detector. Further, the length of the detector waveguide can be selected to maximize optical absorption to provide optimum quantum efficiency. The waveguide detectors are connected in parallel to provide a high-output photocurrent.

The invention describes an integrated-photonics arrangement, implementable in a multi-guide vertical integration structure composed from III-V semiconductors and grown in one epitaxial growth run, that allows for vertical and lateral splitting of optical signals co- or bi-directionally propagating in the common passive waveguide into plurality of the vertically integrated passive or active wavelength-designated waveguides, therefore, enabling the wavelength-designated waveguides operating in different wavelengths to be monolithically integrated onto the same substrate and connected to the shared passive waveguide. In the exemplary embodiments of the invention, two active wavelength-designated waveguides, each of which either laser or photodetector, are vertically integrated with a common passive waveguide connected to the input / output optical port shared by both operating wavelengths, to form a single-fiber, two-wavelength receiver (both wavelength-designated waveguides are waveguide photodetectors) or transmitter (both wavelength-designated waveguides are edge-emitting semiconductor injection lasers) or transceiver (one wavelength-designated waveguide is waveguide photodetector and the other—edge-emitting semiconductor injection laser). Advantageously to the previous art, the proposed vertical splitting and lateral routing allows for a reduced footprint size while greatly improving design flexibility and / or device performance.