High-Speed Photodiodes and Related Devices

Abstract

As the signal frequency increases, a photonic interface for electronics (OE conversion) based on a high-output photodiode becomes important. That is, replacing electrical amplification with optical amplification, provides a kind of "photonic driver" that can elevate the operation speed of various optoelectronic devices and systems. Compared to a conventional pin photodiode (pin-PD), the uni-traveling-carrier photodiode (UTC-PD, [1]) offers a better speed vs. output tradeoff and is suitable for such a purpose. This paper reviews UTC-PD technology and its applications to photoreceivers, millimeter-wave generators, and O/E/O type optical gates that monolithically integrate optical modulators and UTC-PDs.