Patent ID: 8242432

Claim:
An optical device, comprising: a waveguide on a base, the waveguide configured to guide a light signal through a light-transmitting medium; and a light sensor positioned on the base, the light sensor including a ridge extending upward from slab regions positioned on opposing sides of the ridge, the ridge including field sources configured to generate an electrical field in the ridge, the field sources being on opposing lateral sides of the ridge, each one of the lateral sides being between a top of the ridge and the slab regions, the ridge including a multiplication layer and an absorption layer, the absorption layer is positioned to receive at least a portion of the light signal from the waveguide, the absorption layer is configured to generate a hole and electron pair in response to receiving a photon of the light signal, and the multiplication layer positioned to receive the electron generated in the absorption layer and being configured to generate additional electrons in response to receiving the electron.