1.3–1.55 μm wavelength integrated photoreceiver using GaInAs/GaAs heteroepitaxy

We present a monolithic integrated photoreceiver, suitable for long wavelength (1.3–1.55 μm) optical communication systems, which associates a planar embedded Ga0.47In0.53As photoconductor with a GaAs field effect transistor. The Ga0.47In0.53As epitaxy has been grown in holes previously etched in a GaAs epitaxy in order to increase the dark resistance of the photoconductive detector. Experimental results on the photoconductor and the integrated circuit are reported. As an example, the sensitivity of the integrated photoreceiver has been evaluated close to −28 dBm at 250 Mbits/s NRZ for a 10−9 bit error rate.