High-performance waveguide-integrated Ge/Si avalanche photodetector with small contact angle between selectively epitaxial growth Ge and Si layers

Step-coupler waveguide-integrated Ge/Si avalanche photodetector (APD) is based on the vertical multimode interference (MMI), enhancing light scattering towards the Ge active region and creating mirror images of optical modes close to the Ge layer. However, there are two ineluctable contact angels between selectively epitaxial growth Ge and Si layers and selectively epitaxial growth Si and Si substrate, which has an effect on the coupling efficiency and the absorption of the photodetector. Therefore, step-coupled Ge/Si avalanche photodetectors with different step lengths are designed and fabricated. It is found that responsivity of APDs with step-coupler-length of 3.0 μm is 0.51 A/W at -6 V, 21% higher than that of 1.5 μm, which matches well with simulation absorption. The multiplication gain factor is as high as 50, and the maximum gain-bandwidth product reaches up to 376 GHz.