Letter
16 / 15 August 2021 / Optics Letters 4061
Optoelectronic chromatic dispersion in
germanium PN photodiodes: wavelength
monitoring and FBG interrogation
Egor Liokumovitch,* Ziv Glasser, Leeju Singh, Rita Abramov, AND
Shmuel Sternklar
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
*Corresponding author: egorli@ariel.ac.il
Received 24 June 2021; revised 19 July 2021; accepted 19 July 2021; posted 21 July 2021 (Doc. ID 435159); published 13 August 2021
Optoelectronic chromatic dispersion (OED) has recently
been shown to be a significant source of chromatic dis-
persion in photodiodes. We characterize the OED in a
commercial germanium PN-type photodiode and determine
the optimum conditions for maximum OED sensitivity
and wavelength monitoring. A peak OED sensitivity of
1 deg/nm is measured in a spectral range of 1550–1558 nm
with 4 MHz modulation. We also demonstrate an applica-
tion of OED in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogation.
Quasi-static and vibration strains are monitored,
√ with
a spectral√ and strain sensitivity of 1.25 pm/ Hz and
1.08 µε/ Hz, respectively. Photodiode OED can form
the basis of inexpensive chip-scale grating-less spectral
analysis. © 2021 Optical Society of America
https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.435159
Optical chromatic dispersion (OED) is a well-known phenome-
non that affects multi-wavelength light propagation in media.
While posing a fundamental limitation in fiber-optic commu-
nications, it has also been widely utilized for applications in
microwave-photonic signal processing and sensing [1–3]. For
example, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based interrogator was
developed, which utilized chromatic dispersion to extract strain-
induced wavelength-shift information with the RF √ phase-shift
technique. A wavelength resolution of 3.4 fm/ HZ and
interrogation speeds of 1 MHz were demonstrated [4].
Recently, we have shown that the optoelectronic process
of light absorption and current formation in photodiodes
is a significant source of OED [5]. Using the RF phase-shift
technique at 500 kHz modulation, a commercial PN-type
germanium detector in the C-band showed an OED sensitivity
and OED parameter of 0.64 deg/nm and 3460 ps/nm, respec-
tively, equivalent to about 204 km of SMF28 optical fiber. This
large effective dispersion formed the basis for a demonstra-
tion of 8 pm spectral resolution in a wavelength monitoring
experiment.
In this work, we carry out further characterizations of the
OED in the Ge photodiode and demonstrate an application in
FBG interrogation. In the spectral range of 1550–1558 nm
with 4 MHz modulation, the OED sensitivity peaks at
0146-9592/21/164061-04 Journal © 2021 Optical Society of America
Vol. 46, No.
approx. 1 deg/nm, corresponding to a chromatic dispersion
of 676 ps/nm. Due to its high OED, the Ge photodiode can
form the basis of a compact and inexpensive interrogation √sys-
tem. An interrogation √spectral sensitivity of 1.25 pm/ Hz,
equivalent to 1.08 µε/ Hz strain sensitivity, is demonstrated.
Photodiode OED is described in detail in Ref. [5] and will
be briefly reviewed here. Figure 1 depicts sinusoidal multi-
wavelength light with power P0 e i(t) illuminating a PN-type
photodiode consisting of an n-type entrance region and a p-
type substrate region (this particular design is by example only).
The absorption of two of the wavelengths are depicted, where
the penetration depth for the smaller wavelength, λ1 , is less
than that of the larger wavelength, λ2 . Absorption, charge-pair
formation, and subsequent diffusion leads to a measurable
modulated current. The terms that were derived to describe
the overall current contribution in each region are also shown,
leading to a total current at frequency  that is proportional to
the sum of these terms
Ftot = |F E |e −iθ E + |F S |e −iθ S = |Ftot |e −iθtot , (1)
where E and S refer to entrance and substrate, respectively.
The amplitudes and phases of these terms are dependent upon
the following three parameters for each region: the widths WE
and WS , diffusion coefficients D E and DS , and characteristic
diffusion lengths L E and L S . Crucially, there is a wavelength
dependence through the absorption spectrum α(λ) and finally
a dependence on the modulation frequency  = 2π f . The
source of the OED is the wavelength dependence of θtot due
to the wavelength-dependent penetration depth. Referring to
Fig. 1, if wavelength λ1 increases slightly to λ1 + δλ so that the
penetration depth inches closer to the junction, then the aver-
age charge-carrier diffusion time to the junction will decrease,
leading to a decrease in the modulation phase-shift delay of the
current. On the other hand, if wavelength λ2 increases slightly
to λ2 + δλ, then the opposite occurs: the penetration depth
recedes from the junction, the average diffusion time of the
charge carriers increases, and so does the modulation phase-
shift delay. Therefore, wavelength monitoring is achieved by
recording the RF phase shifts. Furthermore, by scanning the RF
frequencies the full optical spectrum can be determined [6]. An
 4062 Vol. 46, No. 16 / 15 August 2021 / Optics Letters Letter

Fig. 1. Basic PN photodiode schematic. WE , WS , widths of the

n-type entrance and p-type substrate regions, respectively; d , width
of the depletion region. The arrows depict the flow direction of the
minority charge carriers in each region.

important parameter is the OED sensitivity, which we defined

as SOED ≡ d θtot /d λ, and have shown that it is proportional to
the spectral absorption term α −1 (d α/d λ). Among the most
common semiconductor materials, germanium possesses the
largest values for this term, and they appear within the C- and
L-spectral bands.
This model was verified experimentally, and it was estab-
lished that a standard commercial Ge PN photodiode (GPD
Optoelectronics, GM3) exhibited a substantial OED sensitivity Fig. 3. Modulation phase θ tot (a) and amplitude |Ftot | (b), as a
of 0.64 deg/nm in the C-band at 500 kHz modulation, equiva- function of signal modulation frequency for wavelengths in a range of
lent to a 204 km span of SMF28 optical fiber with a chromatic 1550–1568 nm. Solid lines, theory; dots, experiment. The horizontal
dispersion DL of 3460 ps/nm. Furthermore, the sensitivity is dashed line indicates the −3 dB bandwidth point.
modulation-frequency dependent as we show below. In this
work, we carry out further experimental characterization of
OED in the Ge photodiode and determine the optimum oper-
ating point for high-sensitivity wavelength monitoring. We
then utilized this extremely large OED for FBG interrogation.
In a first experiment, we characterized the dependence of
the modulated signal amplitude |Ftot |, phase θtot , and SOED
on modulation frequency. The system is shown in Fig. 2 and
consists of a tunable laser source in the C-band with a linewidth
of 100 kHz, a Mach–Zehnder modulator, and two photodiode
circuits—one with the same PN-type Ge photodiode used in
Ref. [5] (GPD Optoelectronics GM3) and the other with a PIN-
type InGaAs photodiode (PHOTOP KPPD-M-2-250S-N), the
purpose of which is explained below. The photodiodes are oper-
ated in the reverse bias regime, and the voltage resulting from the
photodiode’s current is measured on a 50 load resistor. The Fig. 4. ŜOED as a function of modulation frequency for five pairs of
total phase noise was measured to be 5 mdeg. In order to mini- wavelengths in the range of 1550–1568 nm. Solid line, theory; dots,
experiment.
mize any external source of a frequency-dependent response, the
circuit did not contain an RF amplifier. The PIN-type InGaAs
photodiode served as a reference signal. In general, PIN-type
photodiodes have a large intrinsic layer, which is usually dom-
inant compared to the relatively small entrance and substrate
regions, which lead to a negligible OED in the C-band [5].
Both circuits were tested with identical InGaAs photodiodes
to analyze any additional frequency-dependent circuit-related
response.
The tunable laser was set to a starting wavelength of 1550 nm
and was swept up to 1568 nm with a step of 2 nm. At each
wavelength, the modulation frequency was scanned in the
range between 1 kHz and 12 MHz. The signal was monitored
with both the Ge and InGaAs photodiodes. The phase differ-
Fig. 2. Experimental system with a tunable laser and Ge and ence between the Ge photodiode that exhibits OED and the
InGaAs photodiodes. EOM, electrooptical modulator; C, optical InGaAs reference signal was measured, as well as the Ge output
coupler; RL, load resistor. amplitude. The results are presented in Figs. 3 and 4.
 Letter Vol. 46, No. 16 / 15 August 2021 / Optics Letters 4063

Figure 3(a) displays the predicted and measured phase

dependence on the frequency for wavelengths in the range of
1550–1568 nm. The phase initially increases linearly with
frequency and then plateaus at higher frequencies. Longer wave-
lengths of light penetrate further into the substrate, leading to a
larger phase delay. However, the frequency at which the peak is
reached is dependent on the wavelength of the incident light and
the RF bandwidth, as we discuss below.
For a Ge device that consists predominantly of the substrate
region (WS  WE ), longer wavelengths will have a larger pen-
etration depth in this region (after a wavelength of approx.
1545 nm the absorption decreases rapidly). As this occurs, the
average charge-carrier diffusion time to the junction increases,
which ultimately reduces the RF half-power bandwidth (sub-
sequently referred to as the BW) of the photodiode. Figure 3(b) Fig. 5. FBG interrogator system schematic. Interrogation system
shows the measured amplitude frequency response of the Ge (a) of Ref. [4] with a DCF module and an InGaAs detector (b) system
photodiode for different wavelengths. based on Ge OED.
The BW decreases with increasing wavelength as expected. At
a wavelength of 1550 nm, the BW of the photodiode is approx.
2.25 MHz, rapidly decreasing to 900 kHz at 1568 nm. It in the past [4], which utilizes the RF phase-shift method and
decreases by approx. 120 kHz/nm between 1550 and 1560 nm chromatic dispersion to monitor wavelength shifts. Figure 5(a)
and then by 35 kHz/nm between 1564 and 1570 nm due to depicts the interrogator used in the previous work, and Fig. 5(b)
a slight decrease in the slope d α/d λ. The BW dependence on shows the present setup. The dispersion module (DCF or
wavelengths will affect the shape of the sensitivity curve and its DCM) is eliminated, and the InGaAs detector is replaced with
peak values. the high OED Ge photodiode described above. A directly mod-
In order to calculate the sensitivity SOED as a function of ulated superluminescent diode (SLED) in the C-band provides
frequency, two phase curves for two adjacent wavelengths a broadband (30 nm spectral width) sinusoidal-modulated
with a difference 1λ = 2 nm are subtracted, resulting in an optical signal, which is then amplified by an erbium-doped
fiber amplifier (EDFA) and sent through a series of FBG sen-
approximate valuation ŜOED = 1θ/1λ. The results for five
sors characterized by a bandwidth of 0.3 nm and a reflectivity
pairs of wavelengths from 1550 to 1568 nm are presented
>95%. This technique allows simultaneous interrogation of all
in Fig. 4. For each pair, the sensitivity rapidly rises with fre-
the sensors. The reflected light of each sensor is diverted by the
quency, peaking slightly past the BW limit for each respective
detection system onto a Ge photodiode. The RF phase-shift was
wavelength. In particular, for the 1550–1552 nm pair, d α/d λ
measured by a vector network analyzer that also provided the RF
is relatively larger compared to longer wavelengths so that
signal and the reference signal.
due to the relatively large BW the peak sensitivity is reached
Strain on the FBG sensor was monitored, and the resolution
in the range of 2.5–3.5 MHz, peaking at values as high as
of the system was calculated for each modulation frequency.
1 deg/nm and then monotonically decreasing for increas-
The strain was applied by mounting one side of the FBG sensor
ing frequency. The parameters chosen for the simulation
on a static platform, while the other end was connected to a
were D E = 15 cm2 /s,DS = 40 cm2 /s,WE = 1 µm, and
piezo-activated actuator with a position resolution of 70 nm.
WS = 99 µm.
The system was calibrated by applying a known strain and
There are several reasons for the deviation of the experimen-
monitoring the wavelength shift simultaneously with the FBG
tal results from the theory, the main one being the uncertainty in
interrogator and an optical spectrum analyzer. The phase noise
the actual absorption spectrum of the photodiode. We approx-
was measured to be 7.5 mdeg after applying a 40 Hz bandpass
imated the absorption spectrum using various published results
filter. The wavelength-shift resolution (giving the strain res-
[7–10], as well as the theoretical absorption dependence on the
olution) was then measured for a range of signal modulation
photodiode’s parameters through the following relation [11]:
frequencies. The results of this experiment are presented in
Fig. 6, along with the theoretical prediction and the results of the
 
1 R d hc
α = − ln 1 − Wtot −1 , (2) previous experiment using the tunable laser. We took the mea-
q λn
sured phase noise uncertainty of the first experiment as the noise
where R d is the photodiode’s responsivity (taken from the floor for theoretical simulation. With increasing modulation
manufacturer’s datasheet), h is Planck’s constant, c is the speed frequency, the resolution rapidly improves, peaking at 2.5 MHz
of light, n is the refractive index, and q is the electron charge. and then slowly degrading, in agreement with Fig. 4. The best
The width parameters and refractive index are not disclosed achieved interrogation resolution at SNR = 1 was 7.5 pm. The
by the manufacturer. Additional uncertainty stems from the sensitivity of this technique is limited by the cumulative phase
unknown doping parameters for the n- and p-type Ge for the noise at the output due to light source relative intensity noise
photodiode used in this work. Doping affects the diffusion (RIN), RF signal phase noise, photodiode shot (or thermal
coefficients D E and DS , as well as the diffusion lengths of the noise), and post-detection electronic noise. In our measure-
minority charge carriers [12]. ments, the noise floor is higher for the interrogator system due to
We demonstrated an application of photodiode OED in a light source (SLED) with a higher RIN, as compared to a tun-
FBG monitoring. This was done by integrating the OED effect able laser, as well as additional environmental noise on the FBG.
into an FBG interrogator system that has been demonstrated The spectral resolution of the interrogator system with this Ge
 4064 Vol. 46, No. 16 / 15 August 2021 / Optics Letters
Fig. 6. Wavelength resolution as a function of modulation fre-
quency for the tunable laser and FBG interrogator experiments. Black
dots, tunable laser experiment; blue dots, FBG interrogator experi-
ment; solid line, theoretical prediction with the same noise floor as
tunable laser.
Fig. 7. Detection of sinusoidal-vibration strain on the FBG sensors.
Blue, frequency spectrum when vibration is applied; grey, frequency
spectrum with vibration off.
√
photodiode is 1λres = 1.25 pm/ Hz. Through the relation
1λ/λ = 0.791L/L that is due to the photo-elastic coefficient
for a conventional SMF28 fiber√ [13], this corresponds to a strain
sensitivity of 1εres = 1.08 µε/ Hz.
The previous experiment applied a quasi-static strain on the
FBG. In a third experiment, using the same system presented in
Fig. 5(b), the FBG sensor was attached to a vibration generator.
A constant sinusoidal-vibration strain was applied on the FBG
with a frequency of 17.905 kHz. The RF reference signal and
the OED signal of the Ge photodiode were directed to a phase
detector (Analog Devices AD8302). The output of the phase
detector was monitored by an oscilloscope with a sampling
rate and number of points of 200 kSa/s and N = 33.55 Mpts,
respectively. The results after FFT processing are presented in
Fig. 7. The measured SNR was approx. 10.94 dB, achieved
with a processing gain [14] of 10 log(N/2) = 72.2 dB. Figure 8
shows a reconstructed signal after applying a digital 100 Hz
bandpass filter around the vibration frequency and performing
an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). The strain applied at
that frequency can be extrapolated from the amplitude of the
reconstructed signal and from the known conversion to the
phase shift of the phase detector, which is 0.1 deg/mV. This leads
to a measured wavelength shift of 1.413 pm, which corresponds
to a strain of 1.147 µε. Normalizing the value for SNR = √ 1 and
the per unit bandwidth leads to a sensitivity of 1.474 pm/ Hz,
which agrees with the resolution of the quasi-static experiment.
Letter
Fig. 8. Reconstructed vibration signal after applying a digital filter
and performing IFFT.
In summary, we presented further experimental character-
izations of the OED sensitivity in a germanium photodiode.
The dependence of this sensitivity on the RF modulation fre-
quency and optical wavelength were delineated. With 4 MHz
modulation, a peak OED sensitivity of 1 deg/nm was measured
in a range of 1550–1558 nm. Furthermore, we described an
application in FBG interrogation, where we showed that a
commercial PN-type germanium photodiode can serve as a
highly sensitive wavelength monitor. Due to the high
√ OED, a
wavelength shift resolution of 1λres √ = 1.25pm/ Hz, and a
strain resolution of 1εres = 1.08 µε/ Hz were demonstrated
with a commercial Ge photodiode. A photodiode designed for
optimum OED [5] would show even higher strain resolution.
High OED photodiodes can form the basis for many applica-
tions in spectroscopy and spectral imaging that would benefit
from chip-scale, grating-less spectral analysis.
Disclosures. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data Availability. Data underlying the results presented in this paper are
not publicly available at this time but may be obtained from the authors upon
reasonable request.
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