Optoelectronic Mixer Based on Composite Transparent Gate InAlAs–InGaAs Metamorphic HEMTs

In this study, sputtered indium-tin-oxide (ITO) formed ITO/Au/ITO was used to form composite transparent gate InAlAs-InGaAs metamorphic HEMTs (CTG-MHEMT), with an optoelectronic mixer significantly markedly improved front-side optical coupling efficiency. The proposed CTG-MHEMT exhibits a high responsivity (λ = 1310 nm) of 1.71 A/W under optimal bias conditions. A -3 dB electrical bandwidth of 400 MHz is produced by the photovoltaic effect and dominated by the long lifetime of the excess holes. The -3 dB electrical bandwidth associated with the photoconductive effect is 2.3 GHz, and is determined mainly by the short electron life time. A power gain cut-off frequency (f
_max
) of CTG-MHEMT of 18.2 GHz was achieved. This value, is much larger than that of TG-MHEMT (14.6 GHz) because Au nano particles improved the gate resistance. The optoelectronic mixing efficiency was enhanced by tuning the gate bias conditions. The CTG-MHEMT optoelectronic mixer is a cost-effective device, and based on the optical and electrical characteristics, is a promising candidate for simplifying the system architecture in fiber-optic microwave transmission applications.