Discovery Semiconductors, Inc. has been awarded a SBIR Phase II contract from Rome Laboratory, Hascom Air Force Base, for the development of a technology for fabricating high speed integrated photoreceiver MMIC chips on InP substrate. In Phase I of this program, successful design and fabrication of "Dual Depletion, Optically Resonant, High Speed In_0.53Ga_0.47As Photodetectors" was completed. The 3 dB cutoff frequency for a 50 um diameter photodetector was 5.3 GHz at a reverse bias of 3V.

The company also has investigated different monolithic integration methods, and has chosen a "vertical integration" approach in Phase II, thus, making the integration approach simpler. In Phase II of this program, the company will optimize the photodetector technology developed in Phase I, and also design an InP based millimeter wave transimpedance amplifier.

The successful completion of Phase I and Phase II would result in a high yield, low cost, reliable InGaAs/InP photoreceivers for high speed fiberoptic communication, monitoring high speed lasers, and characterizing high speed optical components like modulators and multiplexers.