LIGHT-RECEIVING DEVICE AND PHOTODETECTOR COMPRISING LIGHT-RECEIVING DEVICE

摘要

A light receiving device for readily determining the center of gravity of the light intensity in a long wavelength band for optical communication. An InGaAs layer (i layer) and a p-type InP layer are formed on an n-type InP substrate, and electrodes are formed on the rear surface of the n-type substrate and at the opposite ends on the surface of the p-type layer. A spot light impinging on the surface is transduced photoelectrically to generate a photocurrent flowing laterally on the surface of the p-type layer, and a current corresponding to the distance is outputted from the electrodes at the opposite ends. The center of gravity of the light intensity is determined by calculation based on the values of the currents outputted from the electrodes at the opposite ends, and the light intensity is determined from the sum of the currents outputted from the electrodes at the opposite ends. Furthermore, a photodetector for measuring the light intensity and the center of gravity of each light produced by demultiplexing a wavelength multiplexed signal light is constituted using the light receiving device.