Optoelectronic component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10955692-B2
Application number	US-201615321723-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2016
Priority date	Nov 12, 2015
Publication date	Mar 23, 2021
Grant date	Mar 23, 2021

Abstract

An optoelectronic component including a waveguide, the waveguide comprising an optically active region (OAR), the OAR having an upper and a lower surface; a lower doped region, wherein the lower doped region is located at and/or adjacent to at least a portion of a lower surface of the OAR, and extends laterally outwards from the OAR in a first direction; an upper doped region, wherein the upper doped region is located at and/or adjacent to at least a portion of an upper surface of the OAR, and extends laterally outwards from the OAR in a second direction; and an intrinsic region located between the lower doped region and the upper doped region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optoelectronic component comprising:
an optically active region (OAR), including a waveguide ridge, the OAR having an upper surface and a lower surface;
a lower doped region, wherein the lower doped region is located at and/or adjacent to at least a portion of the lower surface of the OAR, and extends laterally outwards from the waveguide ridge in a first direction;
an upper doped region, wherein a portion of the upper doped region is located at and/or adjacent to at least a portion of the upper surface of the waveguide ridge of the OAR, and the upper doped region extends along a sidewall of the waveguide ridge and laterally outwards from the waveguide ridge in a second direction; and
an intrinsic region consisting of an intrinsic material located between the lower doped region and the upper doped region and in direct contact with the lower doped region and the upper doped region,
wherein the lower doped region does not directly contact the upper doped region.

2. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , further comprising a first electrode contacting the lower doped region at a first contact surface, and a second electrode contacting the upper doped region at a second contact surface;
wherein the first contact surface is laterally offset from the waveguide ridge in the first direction; and
wherein the second contact surface is laterally offset from the waveguide ridge in the second direction.

3. The optoelectronic component of claim 2 , wherein the first and second contact surfaces are aligned with one another along a lateral plane.

4. The optoelectronic component of claim 2 , wherein the upper doped region comprises a first doped zone and a second doped zone;
wherein a dopant concentration in the second doped zone of the upper doped region is higher than a dopant concentration in the first doped zone of the upper doped region; and
wherein the second doped zone of the upper doped region comprises the second contact surface.

5. The optoelectronic component of claim 4 , wherein the first doped zone of the upper doped region is at and/or adjacent to the upper surface of the waveguide ridge of the OAR, and the second doped zone is located at a position which is laterally displaced from the waveguide ridge in the second direction.

6. The optoelectronic component of claim 2 , wherein the lower doped region comprises a first doped zone and a second doped zone;
wherein a dopant concentration in the second doped zone of the lower doped region is higher than a dopant concentration in the first doped zone of the lower doped region; and
wherein the second doped zone of the lower doped region comprises the first contact surface.

7. The optoelectronic component of claim 6 , wherein
the first doped zone of the lower doped region is located directly underneath the OAR; and
the second doped zone of the lower doped region is located within the OAR, laterally displaced from the waveguide ridge, the second doped zone of the lower doped region having an upper surface which comprises the first contact surface, and a lower surface which is in direct contact with the first doped zone of the lower doped region.

8. The optoelectronic component of claim 7 , wherein the second doped zone of the lower doped region is located within a portion of the OAR having a reduced height.

9. The optoelectronic component of claim 8 , wherein the portion of the OAR having a reduced height is a portion of the OAR which has been etched before a dopant species of the lower doped region is added.

10. The optoelectronic component of claim 6 , wherein
the first doped zone of the lower doped region is located directly underneath the OAR;
the OAR including a slab which extends in the first direction, the slab exhibiting a via through its thickness at a location laterally displaced from the waveguide ridge in the first direction; and
wherein the second doped zone of the lower doped region is located within the first doped zone, directly underneath the via.

11. The optoelectronic component of claim 2 , wherein the upper doped region, intrinsic region, and lower doped regions form a PIN diode.

12. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , wherein the lower doped region is partially adjacent to the lower surface of the OAR and partially migrated into the OAR at the lower surface.

13. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , wherein the upper doped region is fully located within the OAR.

14. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , wherein the OAR is formed from an electro-absorption material in which the Franz-Keldysh effect occurs in response to application of an applied electric field.

15. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , wherein the OAR is formed from a light absorbing material suitable for generating a current upon detection of light when a voltage bias is applied across the upper and lower doped regions.

16. The optoelectronic component according to claim 1 ,
wherein the optically active region (OAR) includes a waveguide ridge, a first slab on a first side of the waveguide ridge and a second slab on a second side of the of the waveguide ridge, the OAR having an upper surface and a lower surface;
wherein the lower doped region is located adjacent to a portion of a lower surface of the OAR; the lower doped region also extending laterally along and adjacent to the first slab of the OAR, away from the waveguide ridge in a first direction; and
wherein the upper doped region is located within at least a portion of an upper surface of the waveguide ridge of the OAR, and extends laterally outwards along the second slab of the OAR in a second direction.

17. The optoelectronic component of claim 16 , wherein the lower doped region which is located adjacent to a portion of a lower surface of the OAR, migrates into the OAR at the same portion of the lower surface of the OAR.

18. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , further comprising an interface between the optoelectronic component and a first waveguide, wherein the interface is at an angle α relative to a guiding direction of the first waveguide which is less than 90°.

19. The optoelectronic component of claim 18 , wherein the interface is at an angle of between 89° and 80° relative to guiding direction of the first waveguide.

20. The optoelectronic component of claim 18 , further comprising a second interface between the optoelectronic component and a second waveguide, wherein the second interface is at an angle β relative to a guiding direction of the second waveguide which is less than 90°.

21. The optoelectronic component of claim 1 , wherein an input waveguide of a first refractive index forms an input interface with the waveguide ridge of the OAR, the waveguide ridge of the OAR having a second refractive index;
wherein the angle between the input waveguide and the normal to the input interface corresponds to a given angle of incidence; and
wherein the angle between the waveguide ridge of the OAR and the normal to the input interface corresponds to the angle of refraction as calculated by Snell's law using the first refractive index, second refractive index and the given angle of incidence.

22. The optoelectronic component of claim 21 , wherein an output waveguide of a third refractive index forms an output interface with the waveguide ridge of the OAR;
wherein the angle between the waveguide ridge of the OAR and the normal to the output interface corresponds to a second given angle of incidence; and
where

Assignees

• Rockley Photonics Ltd

Inventors

• Yu Guomin
• Abediasl Hooman
• Lerose Damiana
• Masuda Kevin
• Trita Andrea
• Zilkie Aaron

Classifications

• G02F1/21

  by interference · CPC title

• G02B6/131

  by using epitaxial growth (epitaxial growth for semiconductors H10P14/20) · CPC title

• G02F1/01

  for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  (G02F1/29, G02F1/35 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02B6/136

  by etching · CPC title

• G02F1/212

  Mach-Zehnder type · CPC title