Modeling the electronic transport in FinFET-like lateral Ge-on-Si pin waveguide photodetectors for ultra-wide bandwidth applications

We determined the velocities of photogenerated electrons and holes in FinFET-like lateral Ge-on-Si waveguide photodetectors with Monte Carlo transport simulation. The calculated carrier velocities were used in a 3D multiphysics model focused on the investigation of the electro-optic frequency response. The good match between the bandwidths predicted by the model and the corresponding experimental values available from the literature, larger than 200 GHz, indicates the importance of moving beyond conventional drift-diffusion models for a realistic description of next-generation high-speed integrated photodetectors.