Design criteria for increasing the bandwidth - Efficiency product of GaAs p-i-n photodetectors

Using commercial and homemade simulation tools, this letter investigates ho w the geometrical and technological parameters of the p-i-n junction, parti cularly the p(+)- and n(+)-regions, influence the electrical and optical pe rformances of GaAs p-i-n lumped and traveling-wave photodetectors (TWPDs). It is concluded that, for TWPDs, the electrical bandwidth and quantum effic iency can be optimized nearly separately as a function of the parameters of the p-, i-, and n-regions. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.