Intrinsic photomixing detector based on amorphous silicon for envelope mixing of optical signals

In this work, a promising device for direct optical envelope mixing, the Intrinsic Photomixing Detector (IPD) based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon, is reported. The IPD directly generates a photocurrent proportional to the nonlinear mixing of two optical modulation envelope functions. Experiments illustrate efficient mixing in the visible range at low light levels down to ϕ1 = 4.36 mW/cm2 (444 nm) and ϕ2 = 1.03 mW/cm2 (636 nm). Modulation frequencies exceeding the MHz range are demonstrated. Electro-optical simulations identify defect-induced electrical field screening within the absorber to cause the nonlinear mixing process, opening-up the opportunity to tailor devices toward application-specific requirements. The IPD functionality paves the way toward very simple but high-performance photodetectors for 3D imaging and ranging for direct optical convolutional sensors or for efficient optical logic gates. Using amorphous silicon provides a photodetector material base, which can easily be integrated on top of silicon electronics, enabling fill factors of up to 100%.