Germanium on silicon approaches III-V semiconductors in performance

Germanium-on-silicon photodiodes have provided new insights for optical communications by attaining performance, which identifies with commercial III-V detectors and offer cost reduction along with increased functionality for the future. Germanium has been used by the leading integrated circuit producers in the chip-making process to improve the performance of transistors. Many researchers in the arena of Ge/Si photodetectors have concentrated on the use of quantum wells to reduce the possibility of dislocations, caused by the relaxation of the Ge films with the increase of the critical thickness. The three critical performance metrics for a photodetector include responsivity, dark current, and bandwidth. Attempts have been made by research teams to popularize the use of waveguides made from silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers. The performance of the receivers based on Ge photodetectors have made way for the required optical and electrical specifications.