Abstract

Silicon technology dominates the microelectronics market place. Optoelectronics, on the other hand, has been largely based on III—V semiconductors. This is largely because of the stronger interaction (absorption and emission) with electromagnetic fields at above-bandgap energies in these direct bandgap semiconductors as compared with indirect bandgap materials such as Si. The weaker absorption of Si limits the performance of optical detectors, requiring long absorption lengths that compromise both speed and CMOS integrability.

© 1994 Optical Society of America