近日，上海科技大学陈佰乐团队研究了具有206 GHz带宽和0.81 A W^-1外部响应率的改进型单行载流子光电二极管。2025年11月10日出版的《自然—光子学》杂志发表了这项成果。

量子通信领域对无线传输速率的迫切需求，亟需宽带、高能效的光子亚太赫兹源以实现超高速数据传输。然而，作为太赫兹光混频的核心器件，光二极管始终面临带宽与量子效率的根本性权衡，严重制约了高速高光电转换效率的实现。

研究组通过创新性设计突破这一瓶颈：基于磷化铟的波导集成型改进型单载流子光二极管，在200 GHz带宽下实现了130 GHz的带宽-效率乘积新纪录。该器件通过集成光斑尺寸转换器、优化电场分布、平衡载流子输运及最小化寄生电容，测得3分贝带宽达206 GHz，外量子效率为0.81 A W^-1。封装WR-5.1波导输出后，在127–185 GHz频段内产生超过-5 dBm的射频功率。

作为验证，研究组实现了54米距离的120 Gbps单线速率无线传输，无需低噪声放大器即可通过光子辅助技术完成。这项工作为提升光功率预算、降低能耗提供了新路径，标志着亚太赫兹通信系统向高带宽、高效率演进的重要里程碑，为下一代无线网络奠定基础。

附：英文原文

Title: Modified uni-travelling-carrier photodiodes with 206 GHz bandwidth and 0.81 A W1 external responsivity

Author: Li, Linze, Long, Tianyu, Yang, Xiongwei, Zhang, Zhouze, Wang, Luyu, Wang, Jingyi, Wang, Mingxu, Lu, Juanjuan, Yu, Jianjun, Chen, Baile

Issue&Volume: 2025-11-10

Abstract: The accelerating demand for wireless communication necessitates wideband, energy-efficient photonic sub-terahertz sources to enable ultrafast data transfer. However, as critical components for terahertz photomixing, photodiodes face a fundamental trade-off between bandwidth and quantum efficiency, presenting a major obstacle to achieve high-speed performance with high optoelectronic conversion efficiency. Here we overcome this challenge by demonstrating an InP-based, waveguide-integrated modified uni-travelling-carrier photodiode with bandwidth exceeding 200GHz and a bandwidth–efficiency product surpassing 130GHz. Incorporating a spot-size converter together with optimized electric field distribution, balanced carrier transport and minimized parasitic capacitance, the device achieves a 3-dB bandwidth of 206GHz and an external responsivity of 0.81AW1, setting a new bandwidth–efficiency product benchmark. Packaged with WR-5.1 waveguide output, it delivers radio-frequency power exceeding –5dBm across the 127–185-GHz frequency range. As a proof of concept, we achieved wireless transmission over 54m with a single-line rate of up to 120Gbps, leveraging photonics-aided technology without requiring a low-noise amplifier. This work establishes a pathway to significantly enhance optical power budgets and reduce energy consumption, presenting a transformative step towards high-bandwidth, high-efficiency sub-terahertz communication systems and next-generation wireless networks.

DOI: 10.1038/s41566-025-01784-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-025-01784-0