A high-performance all-silicon photodetector enabling telecom-wavelength detection at room temperature

A high-performance all-silicon photodetector enabling telecom-wavelength detection at room temperature | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A high-performance all-silicon photodetector enabling telecom-wavelength detection at room temperature Yonder Berencén, Mohd Shaikh, Mircea-Traian Catuneanu, Ahmad Echresh, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5623025/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are crucial for advancing optical communications, promising substantial gains in data transmission speed, bandwidth, and energy efficiency compared to conventional electronics 1 . Telecom-wavelength photodetectors, operating near 1550 nm, are indispensable in PICs, where they enable the sensitive and low-noise conversion of optical signals to electrical signals for efficient data processing. While silicon is ideal for passive optical components, its limited absorption in the optical telecommunication range (1260–1625 nm) typically necessitates integrating an alternative material, such as germanium 2 , for photodetection — a process that introduces significant fabrication challenges 3 . Here, we present a high-performance, all-silicon photodetector, grating- and waveguide-coupled, which operates at room temperature within the optical telecom C band. By introducing deep-level impurities into silicon at concentrations close to the solid-solubility limit, we enable efficient sub-bandgap absorption without compromising recombination carrier lifetimes and mobilities. This detector achieves a responsivity of 0.56 A/W, a quantum efficiency of 44.8%, a bandwidth of 5.9 GHz, and a noise-equivalent power of 4.2×10 − 10 W/Hz¹ / ² at 1550 nm, fulfilling requirements for telecom applications. Our approach provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for the monolithic integration of telecom-wavelength photodetectors into silicon-based PICs, advancing the development of compact photonic systems for modern communication infrastructures. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Optoelectronic devices and components Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplInfo.docx Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5623025","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":401487346,"identity":"8d025547-19bc-42d1-8233-6bd6745a27f3","order_by":0,"name":"Yonder 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Telecom-wavelength photodetectors, operating near 1550 nm, are indispensable in PICs, where they enable the sensitive and low-noise conversion of optical signals to electrical signals for efficient data processing. While silicon is ideal for passive optical components, its limited absorption in the optical telecommunication range (1260–1625 nm) typically necessitates integrating an alternative material, such as germanium\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e, for photodetection — a process that introduces significant fabrication challenges\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e. Here, we present a high-performance, all-silicon photodetector, grating- and waveguide-coupled, which operates at room temperature within the optical telecom C band. By introducing deep-level impurities into silicon at concentrations close to the solid-solubility limit, we enable efficient sub-bandgap absorption without compromising recombination carrier lifetimes and mobilities. This detector achieves a responsivity of 0.56 A/W, a quantum efficiency of 44.8%, a bandwidth of 5.9 GHz, and a noise-equivalent power of 4.2×10\u003csup\u003e− 10\u003c/sup\u003e W/Hz¹\u003csup\u003e/\u003c/sup\u003e² at 1550 nm, fulfilling requirements for telecom applications. Our approach provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for the monolithic integration of telecom-wavelength photodetectors into silicon-based PICs, advancing the development of compact photonic systems for modern communication infrastructures.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A high-performance all-silicon photodetector enabling telecom-wavelength detection at room temperature","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-01-14 09:58:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5623025/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7ae83558-94a0-4f8b-b597-0c15c5ac08b3","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 14th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":42786219,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics"},{"id":42786220,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Optoelectronic devices and components"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-28T14:11:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-01-14 09:58:43","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5623025","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5623025","identity":"rs-5623025","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}