Title :
High-speed light Modulation in avalanche breakdown mode for Si diodes
Author :
Chatterjee, Amitabh ; Bhuva, Bharat ; Schrimpf, Ronald
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN, USA
Abstract :
The light emission process from a p-n junction in the forward-bias region is slow to respond to modulation signals due to the indirect band structure of silicon. Experimental results for a reverse-bias region showing light modulation in the range of tens of gigahertz are observed for the first time. For such a light emitter, the limiting speed of light modulation is shown to be determined by the transit time of the minority carriers across the junction during the filament formation of breakdown currents, which has been demonstrated by simulation of the propagation of a shockwave-like pattern in the breakdown field.
Keywords :
CMOS digital integrated circuits; avalanche breakdown; elemental semiconductors; integrated optoelectronics; optical modulation; p-n junctions; semiconductor diodes; CMOS digital integrated circuits; Si; Si diodes; avalanche breakdown mode; breakdown currents; breakdown field; filament formation; forward-bias region; high-speed light modulation; indirect band structure; integrated opto-electronics; light emission process; light emitter; modulation signals; optical interconnections; opto-electronic devices; p-n junction; shock-wave-like pattern propagation; speed of light; Avalanche breakdown; CMOS technology; Electric breakdown; Electrons; III-V semiconductor materials; Integrated circuit interconnections; Light emitting diodes; Optical interconnections; Optical modulation; Silicon; CMOS digital integrated circuits; integrated opto-electronics; optical interconnections; opto-electronic devices;
Journal_Title :
Electron Device Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LED.2004.834247
