Resonant Cavity Enhanced Ge Photodetectors for 1550 nm Operation on Reflecting Si Substrates

Abstract

We have fabricated and characterized the first resonant cavity-enhanced germanium photodetectors on double silicon-on-insulator substrates (Ge-DSOI) for operation around the 1550-nm communication wavelength and have demonstrated over four-fold improvement in quantum efficiency compared to its single-pass counterpart. The DSOI substrate is fabricated using an ion-cut process and optimized for high reflectivity (>90%) in the 1300-1600-nm wavelength range, whereas the Ge layer is grown using a novel two-step ultra-high vacuum/chemical vapor deposition direct epitaxial growth technique. We have simulated a Ge-DSOI photodetector optimized for operation at 1550 nm, exhibiting a quantum efficiency of 76% at 1550 nm given a Ge layer thickness of only 860 nm as a result of both strain-induced and resonant cavity enhancement. For this Ge thickness, we estimate a transit time-limited 3-dB bandwidth of approximately 25 GHz.