High-Power High-Linearity High-Speed Photodetection Modules

High Power Photodiodes (HPPD) are of significant interest to the military as they are critical components in photonic distribution systems. The key to developing a high performance HPPD is improving its linearity (OIP3>50dBm), RF output power (~5W) and thermal performance while simultaneously maintaining a sufficiently wide bandwidth (~20GHz). These stringent performance criteria require innovations on the materials front as well as device architecture. In Phase I, we showed orders of magnitude improvement in thermal performance can be obtained by introducing a high thermal conductivity material layer close to the absorber. Further, we explored high linearity III-V epitaxial designs to determine the optimal design that would meet the program metrics. In Phase II, we propose the development of an edge illuminated HPPD that is based on bonding two dissimilar materials a high linearity III-V epitaxially grown"absorbing"wafer to a high thermal performance, Si based,"waveguiding"wafer. The goal is to combine the benefits that III-V affords in band engineering with the superior thermal performance afforded by Si based substrates. The successful completion of this program will result in technologies that are not only applicable to the military but also have potential in the commercial domain.