Internal photoemission-based photodetector on Si microring resonator

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optoelectronics
• Semiconductor Devices

Background:

• Photodetectors (PDs) are crucial for optical communication systems.
• Existing resonant-cavity-enhanced (RCE) waveguide PDs offer high efficiency and wavelength selectivity.
• There is a need for CMOS-compatible PDs with improved performance at 1.55 μm.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze a novel photodetector (PD) based on the internal photoemission effect.
• To integrate this PD with a CMOS-compatible silicon microring resonator for 1.55 μm operation.
• To achieve high efficiency and wavelength selectivity in a compact device.

Main Methods:

• Modeling the microring waveguide partially covered by a metal/silicide nanolayer.
• Utilizing the Z-transform method for device analysis.
• Simulating the performance of the proposed resonant-cavity-enhanced waveguide PD.

Main Results:

• The proposed photodetector leverages the internal photoemission effect over a Schottky barrier.
• The device is integrated onto a CMOS-compatible silicon microring resonator.
• Simulations indicate a maximum bandwidth-efficiency product on the order of 10 GHz.

Conclusions:

• The proposed RCE waveguide PD demonstrates significantly higher bandwidth-efficiency product compared to existing RCE-based PDs.
• This technology offers a promising solution for high-performance, CMOS-compatible photodetectors at 1.55 μm.
• The device integrates efficient light detection with resonant enhancement for superior performance.