High Speed Photosensitive Devices and Associated Methods
High speed optoelectronic devices and associated methods are provided. In one aspect, for example, a high speed optoelectronic device can include a silicon material having an incident light surface, a first doped region and a second doped region forming a semiconductive junction in the silicon material, and a textured region coupled to the silicon material and positioned to interact with electromagnetic radiation. The optoelectronic device has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 5 nanoseconds and a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.4 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having at least one wavelength from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm.
1 . A high speed optoelectronic device, comprising:
a silicon material having an incident light surface;
a first doped region and a second doped region forming a semiconductive junction in the silicon material; and
a textured region coupled to the silicon material and positioned to interact with electromagnetic radiation;
wherein the optoelectronic device has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 5 nanoseconds and a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.4 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having at least one wavelength from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the silicon material has a thickness of from about 1 μm to about 100 μm.
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the optoelectronic device has a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.5 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having at least one wavelength from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm.
4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the optoelectronic device has a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.45 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 850 nm.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the optoelectronic device has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 1 nanosecond.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first doped region has a surface area of from about 0.1 μm 2 to about 32 μm 2 .
7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the optoelectronic device has a data rate greater than or equal to about 1 Gbs.
8 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a first contact and a second contact, wherein the first contact is opposite in voltage polarity from the second contact.
9 . The device of claim 8 , wherein a reverse bias is applied across the first and second contacts.
10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the reverse bias is from about 0.001 V to about 20 V.
11 . The device of claim 8 , wherein a bias is not applied across the first and second contacts during use.
12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein dark current of the device during operation is from about 100 pA/cm 2 to about 10 nA/cm 2 .
13 . The device of claim 1 , wherein maximum dark current of the device during operation is less than about 1 nA/cm 2 .
14 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the textured region is positioned on an opposite side of the silicon material from the incident light surface.
15 . A high speed optoelectronic device, comprising:
a silicon material having an incident light surface;
a first doped region and a second doped region forming a semiconductive junction in the silicon material; and
a textured region coupled to the silicon material and positioned to interact with electromagnetic radiation;
wherein the optoelectronic device has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 5 nanoseconds and a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.3 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 940 nm.
16 . A high speed optoelectronic device, comprising:
a silicon material having an incident light surface;
a first doped region and a second doped region forming a semiconductive junction in the silicon material; and
a textured region coupled to the silicon material and positioned to interact with electromagnetic radiation;
wherein the optoelectronic device has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 5 nanoseconds and a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.05 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 1060 nm.
17 . A photodiode array, comprising
a silicon material having an incident light surface;
at least two photodiodes in the silicon material, each photodiode including a first doped region and a second doped region forming a junction; and
a textured region coupled to the silicon material and positioned to interact with electromagnetic radiation;
wherein the photodiode array has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 5 nanoseconds and a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.4 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having at least one wavelength from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm.
18 . The array of claim ' 7 , wherein the silicon material has a thickness of from about 1 μm to about 100 μm.
19 . The array of claim ' 7 , wherein the at least two photodiodes are four photodiodes forming a quad array.
20 . The array of claim ' 9 , wherein the four photodiodes of the quad array are selective to a single wavelength range.
21 . The array of claim 17 , wherein the array is an image sensor.
22 . The array of claim 17 , wherein the array is operable to detect a phase delay between a reflected and an emitted optical signal.
23 . The array of claim 17 , wherein the array is operable to detect pulsed optical signals.
24 . The array of claim 17 , wherein the at least two photodiodes are operable to transmit data at a rate of at least 1 Gbps.
25 . A method of increasing the speed of an optoelectronic device, comprising:
doping at least two regions in a silicon material to form at least one junction; and
texturing the silicon material to form a textured region positioned to interact with electromagnetic radiation;
wherein the optoelectronic device has a response time of from about 1 picosecond to about 5 nanoseconds and a responsivity of greater than or equal to about 0.4 A/W for electromagnetic radiation having at least one wavelength from about 800 nm to about 1200 nm.