Disclosed is a method of facilitating straining of a semiconductor element (331) for semiconductor fabrication. In a described embodiment, the method comprises: providing a base layer (320) with the semiconductor element (331) arranged on a first base portion (321) of the base layer (320), the semiconductor element (331) being subjected to a strain relating to a characteristic of the first base portion (321); and adjusting the characteristic of the first base portion (321) to facilitate straining of the semiconductor element (331).

A method of generating a germanium structure includes performing an epitaxial depositing process on an assembly of a silicon substrate and an oxide layer, wherein one or more trenches in the oxide layer expose surface portions of the silicon substrate. The epitaxial depositing process includes depositing germanium onto the assembly during a first phase, performing an etch process during a second phase following the first phase in order to remove germanium from the oxide layer, and repeating the first and second phases. A germanium crystal is grown in the trench or trenches. An optical device includes a light-incidence surface formed by a raw textured surface of a germanium structure obtained by an epitaxial depositing process without processing the surface of the germanium structure after the epitaxial process.

The present disclosure relates a method of forming an integrated chip structure. The method includes etching a base substrate to form a recess defined by one or more interior surfaces of the base substrate. A doped epitaxial layer is formed along the one or more interior surfaces of the base substrate, and an epitaxial material is formed on horizontally and vertically extending surfaces of the doped epitaxial layer. A first doped photodiode region is formed within the epitaxial material and a second doped photodiode region is formed within the epitaxial material. The first doped photodiode region has a first doping type and the second doped photodiode region has a second doping type.

A photonic structure can include in one aspect one or more waveguides formed by patterning of waveguiding material adapted to propagate light energy. Such waveguiding material may include one or more of silicon (single-, poly-, or non-crystalline) and silicon nitride.

A semiconductor photodiode. The semiconductor photodiode including: an input waveguide, arranged to receive an optical signal at a first port and provide the optical signal from the second port; a photodiode waveguide, arranged to receive the optical signal from the second port of the input waveguide, and at least partially convert the optical signal into an electrical signal; and an electro-static defence component, located adjacent to the photodiode waveguide. The electro-static defence component and the photodiode waveguide are electrically connected in parallel.

A selective emitter for thermophotovoltaic energy conversion and method for fabricating the same is disclosed. The selective emitter includes a germanium wafer, and a reflective layer deposited on a first side of the germanium wafer. The reflective layer includes tungsten. The selective emitter also includes an anti-reflective layer deposited on a second side of the germanium wafer opposite the first side. The anti-reflective layer includes Si.sub.3N.sub.4. The method for fabricating a selective emitter for thermophotovoltaic energy conversion includes deposing a reflective layer on a first side of a germanium wafer, and deposing an anti-reflective layer on a second side of the germanium wafer, the first side being opposite the second side. The germanium wafer may be undoped. The reflective layer may be sputtered onto the germanium wafer. The anti-reflective layer may be deposited on the germanium wafer using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

Techniques for enhancing the absorption of photons in semiconductors with the use of microstructures are described. The microstructures, such as pillars and/or holes, effectively increase the effective absorption length resulting in a greater absorption of the photons. Using microstructures for absorption enhancement for silicon photodiodes and silicon avalanche photodiodes can result in bandwidths in excess of 10 Gb/s at photons with wavelengths of 850 nm, and with quantum efficiencies of approximately 90% or more.

Microstructures of micro and/or nano holes on one or more surfaces enhance photodetector optical sensitivity. Arrangements such as a CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) as an imaging LIDAR using a high speed photodetector array wafer of Si, Ge, a Ge alloy on SI and/or Si on Ge on Si, and a wafer of CMOS Logic Processor (CLP) ib Si fi signal amplification, processing and/or transmission can be stacked for electrical interaction. The wafers can be fabricated separately and then stacked or can be regions of the same monolithic chip. The image can be a time-of-flight image. Bayer arrays can be enhanced with microstructure holes. Pixels can be photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, single photon avalanche photodiodes and phototransistors on the same array and can be Ge or Si pixels. The array can be of high speed photodetectors with data rates of 56 Gigabits per second, Gbps, or more per photodetector.

Disclosed is a photodetector with a resonant waveguide structure, including: a substrate; a light absorption layer located on the substrate and configured for detecting an optical signal; a resonant waveguide structure including a first waveguide portion and a second waveguide portion spaced apart; the first waveguide portion receives the optical signal and transmits the received optical signal to a first region of the second waveguide portion, the second waveguide portion includes a second region for coupling the optical signal to the light absorption layer, and the second waveguide portion provides a circular transmission path for transmission of the optical signal to transmit the optical signal that transmitted to the first region to the second region along part of the circular transmission path and retransmit the optical signal that flows through the second region without being coupled to the light absorption layer to the second region along the circular transmission path.

A time of flight sensor includes at least one pixel, including: an epitaxially-grown Ge-based photosensitive structure including an upper portion and a trunk portion, a Si-based photocurrent collecting structure, a dielectric material layer arranged at least between the upper portion of the photosensitive structure and the photocurrent collecting structure, wherein the trunk portion of the photosensitive structure is arranged within an aperture in the dielectric material layer, and at least one n-contact configured to collect electrons of a photocurrent and at least one p-contact configured to collect holes of the photocurrent, the at least one n-contact and p-contact arranged in the photocurrent collecting structure.