Toward GHz Switching in SOI Light Emitting Diodes

In this paper, we study the switching behavior of silicon-on-insulator light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Through the comparison of various device geometries, we establish the dimensional dependence of the switching speed of the LED. TCAD simulations are in line with the experimental results. Our findings indicate that ON-OFF keying up to GHz frequencies should be feasible with such diodes, although a design optimized for higher frequency operation will exhibit a reduced light emission efficiency.