Patent ID: 8035186

Claim:
A method of detecting light, comprising: using a semiconductor structure as a photodetector to detect incident light and generate an electrical signal representative of the detected incident light, the semiconductor structure comprising: a dielectric material; a body of semiconductor material disposed at least partially within the dielectric material, the body of semiconductor material comprising: a top surface configured to receive incident radiation, the top surface comprising a passivated portion; a first region doped to a first type of conductivity (p or n); a second region peripherally around the first region doped to a second type of conductivity (n or p) opposite the type of conductivity of the first region, the second region forming a first p-n junction with the first region; and a third region doped to the first type of conductivity (p or n) and disposed peripherally around the second region, the third region forming a second p-n junction with the second region, the third region being noncontiguous from the first region; wherein the first p-n junction intersects the top surface of the body of semiconductor material at a first intersection location on the passivated portion of the top surface and the second p-n junction intersects the top surface of the body of semiconductor material at a second intersection location on the passivated portion of the top surface; and a plurality of ohmic contacts comprising a first ohmic contact to the first region, a second ohmic contact to the second region, and a third ohmic contact to the third region, the first, second, and third ohmic contacts collectively configured to collect photogenerated current and bias the first and second p-n junctions.