| CPC G02F 1/025 (2013.01) [G02F 1/2257 (2013.01); G02F 2201/063 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |
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1. A semiconductor structure comprising:
a substrate;
an input terminal trunk structure comprising a first linear segment as viewed from a top view of the semiconductor structure, wherein the input terminal trunk structure is arranged over the substrate and extends in a first direction in parallel to an upper surface of the substrate;
an output terminal trunk structure comprising a second linear segment that is co-linear with the first linear segment and laterally spaced apart from the first linear segment as viewed from the top view;
a first waveguide having an input region that branches off an end of the input terminal trunk structure, an output region that merges with an end of the output terminal trunk structure, and a first modulation region between the input region of the first waveguide and the output region of the first waveguide as viewed from the top view, wherein the first modulation region is configured to receive light from the input region of the first waveguide and transfer the received light along the first direction towards the output region of the first waveguide, a second waveguide having an input region that branches off the end of the input terminal trunk structure, an output region that merges with the end of the output terminal trunk structure, and a second modulation region between the input region of the second waveguide and the output region of the second waveguide as viewed from the top view, wherein the second modulation region is configured to receive light from the input region of the second waveguide and transfer the light in the first direction towards the output region of the second waveguide;
wherein the first modulation region comprises:
a lower doped body structure comprising a first doping type, the lower doped body structure including a plurality of openings defined by inner sidewalls and bottom surfaces within the lower doped body structure when viewed in a cross-sectional view taken in a second direction, the second direction being parallel to the upper surface of the substrate and perpendicular to the first direction of light propagation;
an upper doped body structure comprising a second doping type and overlying the lower doped body structure, the second doping type being opposite the first doping type; and
a first plurality of doped pillar structures disposed within the plurality of openings, respectively, wherein the doped pillar structures comprise the second doping type and extend in a third direction from a lower surface of the upper doped body structure to directly contact the bottom surfaces and inner sidewalls of the openings of the lower doped body structure when viewed in the cross-sectional view, the third direction being perpendicular to the first direction in which the light propagates,
wherein the doped pillar structures are arranged in a first array comprising at least two rows of the doped pillar structures and at least two columns of the doped pillar structures as viewed from the top view, wherein the at least two columns are spaced laterally from one another along the first direction and the at least two rows are spaced laterally from one another along the second direction, wherein a first distance in the first direction between two adjacent columns in the at least two columns is greater than a width in the first direction of an individual doped pillar structure in the first plurality of doped pillar structures, wherein a second distance in the second direction between an outer sidewall of the lower doped body structure and an outermost row in the at least two rows of the doped pillar structure is non-zero and less than the first distance, and wherein a third distance in the second direction between two directly adjacent rows in the at least two rows of the doped pillar structures is non-zero and less than the width of the individual doped pillar structure, and
wherein the lower doped body structure and the plurality of doped pillar structures are formed of a same material doped with the first and second doping types, respectively.
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