Two-micron-wavelength germanium-tin photodiodes with low dark current and gigahertz bandwidth

We report the demonstration of a germanium-tin (Ge_0.9Sn_0.1) multiple-quantum-well p-i-n photodiode on silicon (Si) substrate for 2 μm-wavelength light detection. Characterization of the photodetector in both direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF) regimes was performed. At the bias voltage of -1 V, a dark current density of 0.031 A/cm² is realized at room-temperature, which is among the lowest reported values for Ge_1-xSnx-on-Si p-i-n photodiodes. In addition, for the first time, a 3 dB bandwidth (f3dB) of around 1.2 GHz is achieved in Ge_1-xSnx photodetectors operating at 2 μm. It is anticipated that further device optimization would extend the f3dB to above 10 GHz.