Optoelectronic digital circuits based on resonant tunnelling diodes and photo diodes

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Franz-Josef Tegude
• Subject Area: Electronic Semiconductors, Components and Circuits, Integrated Systems, Sensor Technology, Theoretical Electrical Engineering
• Term: from 2007 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 55395657

The aim of this project is the reduction of the device count, circuit complexity and power dissipation in digital optoelectronic receiver circuits without any loss in circuit functionality. For this purpose, a monolithic integration of a PIN detector diode, a Resonant-Tunneling Diode circuit and a transistor amplifier will be used. Circuit simulations in the last phase of the project showed that, a considerable increase of the resonant tunneling diode performance leads to a significant improvement of switching speed. After this successful improvement of the resonant-tunneling diode performance, a device model for circuit simulation was also developed in the first phase of the project. In the next phase, a Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistor with threshold voltage, adjusted to the resonant-tunneling diode voltage level, should be used to match the new optoelectronic demultiplexer circuit design with the new high performance resonant tunneling diode to the 50 ohms environment. This new circuit design with fewer components shall allow a complete 1:2-demultiplexing without data loss and with high data rates. The cascading into compact 1: N demultiplexers in the 50-ohm environment will also be shown. As a result, an optoelectronic 1:2 demultiplexer demonstrator with data rate up to 20 Gbit/s with output buffer will be designed, fabricated and characterized. The potential to increased functionality and higher bit rates up to 60 Gbit/s will also be evaluated.We apply for 12 months extension of the project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants