Receiver-less silicon-germanium avalanche p-i-n photodetectors

On-chip avalanche photodetectors (APDs) are attractive for a sensitive detection of high-speed data light signals with low intensities. Silicon-germanium (Si-Ge) APDs are leading candidates to build reliable short-reach optical links. Appeal for Si-Ge APDs stems from larger (lower) gain-bandwidth (excess noise) at reduced voltages, CMOS-compliant production, and monolithic integration compared to their III-V alternatives [1] - [5] . Typically, Si-Ge APDs are metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) [3] , separate absorption charge multiplication (SACM) [4] , or p-i-n [5] devices - each of them having their own advantages and drawbacks [1] . Although many Si-Ge APDs have appealing performances on their own, they are usually operated with other electronic components such as amplification stages, impeding low power consumption and low-cost detection on Si chips.