INTEGRATED OPTOELECTRONIC UNIT BASED ON POROUS SILICON

An original device design including an aluminum-porous silicon light e mitting diode connected with a photodetector by an alumina waveguide h as been developed. Distinct photoconductivity and photovoltaic effects have been clearly revealed from current-voltage curves of the photode tector. The comparison of external light excitation and internal light excitation has shown that photoresponse is considerably higher in cas e of the internal light source. Furthermore, the photoresponse from th e internal light source can be increased by using a special reflector film along the edge of the aluminum electrode. The presented optoelect ronic unit has been made by silicon technology and can be used for hig h speed optical interconnects within VLSI-IC.