ABSTRACT
An optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) includes both optical devices, such as lasers and photodetectors, and electronic devices, such as transistors (which are necessary for driving the lasers), amplification and signal processing [Hirano 1987]. Most of the optoelectronic circuits which are commercially available are still fabricated using a hybrid assembly technology, and the interconnections between optical and electronic discrete devices are performed using conventional techniques such as wire bonding. However, as the bit rate is increased, the parasitic capacitances and inductances associated with discrete packaging and bonding wires lead to significant degradations in the performance of the circuit. Therefore, monolithic integration of optical and electronic devices on the same substrate (preferably a semi-insulating one) has received increasing attention since the first demonstration of an optoelectronic integrated circuit by Lee et al. [1978] which consisted of the integration of a laser diode with a Gunn oscillator. However,
present integration techniques are still complicated due to the different structural and material requirements of optical and electronic devices. It looks like the future of optoelectronics relies not only on improvements in the performance of electronic and optical devices, but also on advancements in monolithic integration techniques, which have the advantage of compactness, higher performance and lower cost over conventional hybrid technology.
