Abstract

Low-noise high-speed photoreceivers are strongly demanded for use in future high-bit-rate optical transmission systems in the few to several Gb/s region. The speed of Ge and GaInAs avalanche photodiodes suffers from being limited by the avalanche buildup time. Instead a monolithic PIN photo- diode/field-effect transistor (PIN/FET) would be the most attractive receiver in such a high-bit-rate region, provided the capacitance is sufficiently lowered. For making monolithic PIN/FETs, a PIN photodiode having not only an extremely low capacitance but a structure free from parasitlcs, planar and integrable with FETs, and suitable for surface Illumination is a basic requirement. We have fabricated a monolithic PIN/FET structure by Introducing a new planar structure PIN photodiode embedded In a semi-insulating substrate. We report high-speed performance of this PIN photodiode as well as successful operation of the fabricated monolithic PIN/FET photoreceiver.

© 1987 Optical Society of America