A hybrid AlGaInAs-silicon evanescent preamplifier and photodetector

Abstract

We report the integration of a hybrid silicon evanescent waveguide photodetector with a hybrid silicon evanescent optical amplifier. The device operates at 1550 nm with a responsivity of 5.7 A/W and a receiver sensitivity of -17.5 dBm at 2.5 Gb/s. The transition between the passive silicon waveguide and the hybrid waveguide of the amplifier is tapered to increase coupling efficiency and to minimize reflections.