A new semiconductor device-the gate-controlled photodiode: device concept and experimental results

The gate-controlled photodiode (GCPD) is a photodetector whose external quantum efficiency can be modulated by an applied gate voltage. In its linear region, the GCPD is a multiplier of the incident light intensity and gate voltage. Its potential applications include optical matrix multiplication, matrix inversion, etc. This device has been demonstrated experimentally in Si substrate. A 10-ns response time and a nonlinearity of less than 3% with a 30 dB range of light intensity and within a 23 dB range of gate voltage have been obtained.