Compound and Silicon-Based Tunnel Microwave Optoelectronic CMOS Technology: Techniques to Achieve Ultra-Low Series Resistance Designs and Powered Photonic Terahertz Waveguides

In this report we will compare Silicon-based Microwave Photonic CMOS with III-V or II-VI Microwave Photonic CMOS [1]-[2]. Ultra-low resistance threshold-less LED or laser are in the CMOS drain region, which function with DC voltage sources. Si or SiGe microwave diodes are also in the CMOS drain region, which are operated under DC biases and generate microwaves only with AC signals. There are various types of microwave diodes. Tunnel diode is a very low-resistance, low-noise solution for Millimeter wave Photonic CMOS. Si, SiGe, III-V and II-VI semiconductors can be used to fabricate Microwave Tunnel diodes [3]-[7]. Powered Photonic Waveguides are the extended Microwave Photonic CMOS drain regions. This novel approach not only improves the signal transmission efficiency, but also increases the CMOS drive current and switching speed.