A long-wavelength 10 V optical-to-electrical InGaAs photogenerator

Abstract

A high-voltage back-illuminated InGaAs photogenerator capable of producing an open-circuit voltage of 4.3 V with 5 /spl mu/W illumination at 1554 nm and 10.3 V with 500 /spl mu/W has been successfully fabricated. Factors contributing to the photogenerator's effectiveness were the large number of diode elements, N=30, a high short-circuit responsivity, r=0.025 A/W, and a low saturation current, I/sub s/=3.95 nA. As a demonstration, the photogenerator was connected to a MEMS optical shutter to build a novel self-powered optical power limiter that might be used to implement autonomous signal power control in optical communication networks. It is expected that the high voltage generated by this device can facilitate the design of a large variety of useful optically powered long-wavelength lightwave circuits.