Single-fiber bidirectional optoelectronic links using three-dimensional stacked thin film emitters and detectors

The demand for higher bandwidth has created a need for fiber optics in a wide variety of commercial, industrial, and military applications, such as Fiber-to-the-Home, In-Flight entertainment systems, and tactical communication systems. For bi-directional communications, some of these fiber optic communication systems have used two optical cables. To simplify the network and reduce costs, it is advantageous to provide bi-directional communications over a single fiber. For example, in military and aerospace applications the reduction in the number of cables would reduce the weight, thereby, reducing the fuel costs.; As the demand for single fiber bi-directional optical communication continues to increase, there will be an increasing demand for affordable optical network units (ONUs). The main component of ONUs is the optoelectronic transceiver, and the cost of the ONU is critical. To better understand the challenges in designing affordable ONUs, this research investigated previous work aimed at building optoelectronic transceivers for short haul bi-directional single fiber optical links.; To provide a more integrated, compact, higher performance, alignment tolerant alternative to previous solutions, the fabrication of thin film LEDs and MSM PDs, and also the development of a process for stacking the thin film devices onto host substrates such as SiO₂ coated silicon and silicon CMOS circuits to form a optoelectronic transceiver, were demonstrated.