  Si/Ge uni-traveling carrier photodiodes exhibit higher output current when
space-charge effects are overcome and thermal effects are suppressed, which is
highly beneficial for increasing the dynamic range of various microwave
photonic systems and simplifying high-bit-rate digital receivers in different
applications. From the point of view of packaging, detectors with
vertical-illumination configuration can be easily handled by pick-and-place
tools and are a popular choice for making photo-receiver modules. However,
vertical-illumination Si/Ge uni-traveling carrier (UTC) devices suffer from
inter-constraint between high speed and high responsivity. Here, we report a
high responsivity vertical-illumination Si/Ge UTC photodiode based on a
silicon-on-insulator substrate. The maximum absorption efficiency of the
devices was 2.4 times greater than the silicon substrate owing to constructive
interference. The Si/Ge UTC photodiode was successfully fabricated and had a
dominant responsivity at 1550 nm of 0.18 A/W, a 50% improvement even with a 25%
thinner Ge absorption layer.
