High-Efficiency SiGe/Si Heterojunction Phototransistor With Photon- Trapping Nanoholes Operating at 600–1000-nm Wavelength

High-efficiency, high-speed phototransistors applicable in visible wavelength and the near-infrared regime are highly desirable for optical communication links utilized for data centers, high-performance computing, and laser radar application. To overcome the intrinsic weak absorption of silicon material and alleviate the compromise between efficiency and speed of the device, a SiGe/Si heterojunction phototransistor (HPT) with photon-trapping nanoholes is demonstrated in this article. With photon-trapping nanohole structures, the absorption efficiency of the HPT is greatly improved near the whole band ranging from 600- to 1000-nm wavelength compared to one without nanoholes. The responsivity of nanohole-assisted HPT is 25.69, 27.02, and 15.65 A/W at 650-, 850-, and 940-nm wavelength, exhibiting 85.22%, 192.42%, and 848.48% improvement compared with its counterpart without nanoholes. The thin base region also allows a high speed of the HPT with a transient response of 0.45 ns at 850-nm wavelength.