Design optimization of an optically drivable heterogeneous MOSFET with silicon compatibility

Optical and electronic devices for optoelectronic integrated circuits have been extensively studied, and now, more efforts for the conversion between optical and electrical signals are accordingly required. In this work, a silicon (Si)-compatible optically drivable III-V-on-Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is studied by simulation. The proposed optoelectronic device provides a strong interface between the optical and the electronic platforms as a key component of the optical interconnect. The optically driven MOSFET device is analogously analyzed into a photodetector and its complementary device, getting rid of receiver circuitry, which improves the integration density and simplifies the fabrication processes. To realize the optical switching with maximized photo-sensing region, a bottom gate is formed to modulate the channel, where germanium (Ge) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) are the active materials on Si platform. Both direct-current (DC) and alternating-current (AC) performances of an optimized device are evaluated.