United Technologies Corporation

James M Berak, Sr

Robert W Ade

Donald E Bossi

Rocco P Basilica

A single-side growth reflection-based photodetector includes a waveguide structure 8 comprising a 'strip-loaded rib' waveguide 10 which accepts light 11 from an input end-face 7 and confines the light to a predetermined spatial optical mode 12. The light 11 propagates along the waveguide 10 and is internally reflected off an edge 18 of a retrograde angled region 20, at one end of the waveguide, to a detector layer 16 where the light 11 is absorbed, thereby creating electron-hole pairs in the detector layer 16. The absorbed light is detected by a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) detector comprising an interdigital electrode structure 14 disposed on the outer surface of the detector layer 16 which is disposed above a wide non-waveguide mesa layer 9. For 0.84 micron wavelength light, the detector layer 16 is made of GaAs. Alternatively, for 1.3-1.55 micron light, the detector layer 16 is made of InGaAs.

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East Hartford, CT, United States of America

James M Berak, Sr