fig1 to 6 illustrate , with schematic cross - sectional views in different stages of the process , an example of a process for producing an embodiment of the pin photodiode according to the invention , and they also illustrate the features of such a pin photodiode . all the figures show structural cross - sections perpendicular to the direction of incidence of the light . an embodiment of a lateral pin photodiode according to the invention shall firstly be described below with reference to fig4 and 6 . on a monocrystalline waveguide 1 , produced on a silicon dioxide layer 2 , there is a germanium layer 5 which is covered laterally and above by a silicon layer 7 . an important aspect is the oblique edge of a lateral interface 6 formed by the germanium layer 5 and the silicon layer , which is referred to in the following as a germanium - silicon interface , and the formation of which shall be described further below . the entire diode structure is laterally enclosed by an insulator layer 3 , preferably by a silicon oxide layer . the diode structure is covered with an insulating strip 8 , which , as explained in more detail below , allows production of an intrinsic germanium region 5 a which is self - aligned with p - and n - doped regions 9 and 10 . lateral insulator layer spacers 11 are optional . the benefit they provide is to increase reliability in preventing undesired diode leakage currents which would occur if the metal silicide layer 12 formed on the p - and n - doped regions 9 and 10 comes into contact with the intrinsic region 5 a . an example of a process for producing the pin photodiode as just described shall now be described with reference to all the figures . fig1 shows a first stage of an example of a process for producing an embodiment of a diode structure . in this stage , selective epitaxial growth has resulted in a germanium layer 4 being formed in a window in an insulator layer 3 . in this example , the insulator layer is a silicon oxide layer . the germanium layer 4 and also a portion of the insulator layer 3 lie on a previously produced monocrystalline silicon waveguide 1 located on a silicon oxide layer 2 . the thickness of the germanium layer 4 may be considerably thicker here than the desired final thickness of the germanium region of the finished photodiode . facet formation on the upper side of germanium layer 4 , typical for selective ge growth on ( 100 ) oriented silicon , is indicated in fig1 by oblique edges . the thickness of insulator layer 3 above waveguide 1 is chosen such that it corresponds to the desired total detector height , compatible with cmos and bicmos . fig2 shows a second stage in production of the diode structure embodiment . many chemicals that are used in the cmos or bicmos process for cleaning or etching steps do not have sufficient selectivity to germanium , i . e ., they strongly attack the grown germanium layer , which can greatly complicate the integration of the production process for the germanium pin photodiodes into the cmos or bicmos process . a gas phase etch - back process is therefore used as an alternative solution in the present embodiment . this gas phase etch - back process is already known per se , namely from the publication by y . yamamoto et al , in thin solid films , vol . 520 ( 2012 ) pp . 3216 - 3221 . it can be carried out in the same production plant immediately after producing germanium layer 4 and requires no additional cleaning steps prior to the subsequent steps for completing the photodiode . fig2 shows the diode structure after such a gas phase - etch - back process . the etching process is controlled in such a way that the final height of the processed germanium layer , marked with reference sign 5 in the figures , over the waveguide is set . in the etching process , a characteristic structure having a lateral facet 6 is formed , as indicated in fig2 . as described in y . yamamoto et al , thin solid films , vol . 520 ( 2012 ) pp . 3216 - 3221 , the process sequence “ depositing a relatively thick germanium layer ” and “ subsequent etching back ” allows the production of “ thin ” ge layers having a lower defect density than can otherwise be achieved for “ thicker ” layers . this approach is important for achieving a low dark current level in the photodiodes . fig3 and 4 show a third and a fourth stage in production of the embodiment of the diode structure . fig3 shows the diode structure after deposition of a silicon layer 7 by non - selective silicon epitaxy . fig4 shows the diode structure after subsequent planarization by chemical - mechanical polishing ( cmp ). it is important that after these steps of the process , the germanium region of the diode is completely enclosed by silicon . this allows unrestricted application of the normal cleaning and wet etching processes of cmos or bicmos technology and use of the same metal silicide for cmos or bicmos components and photodiodes . fig5 shows , as a fifth stage in the production of this embodiment of the diode structure , a phase during self - aligned production of a pin structure with the aid of an insulating strip 8 . the thickness of the latter is chosen such that no doping whatsoever is introduced under the strip during subsequent implantation of p - and n - regions 9 and 10 . in fig5 , this is graphically indicated by the p - and n - regions being darker than a region 5 a lying between the latter and under insulating strip 8 . in this way , inner edges of resist masks ( not shown ) used for p - and n - implantation are positioned directly on insulating strip 8 , without variations in the alignment of the resist masks with insulating strip 8 resulting in variations in the desired width of the intrinsic germanium region 5 a . the width of the intrinsic germanium region can thus be adjusted very precisely , which is very important for the optical bandwidth . it is also important that not only the width of the intrinsic germanium region can be adjusted with the width of insulating strip 8 , but also the ratio between doped germanium and silicon regions , which can be then exploited for optimizing the bandwidth of the diodes . fig6 shows , as the sixth stage in production of this embodiment of the diode structure , the final diode structure before production of diode contacts . a metal silicide layer 12 has been produced by self - aligned formation , making optimal use of insulating layer spacers 11 above p - and n - regions 9 and 10 . this makes it possible to achieve low contact impedances , which in turn are beneficial for achieving high optical bandwidth . with the structure achieved here , the contacts normally used in cmos or bicmos processes ( e . g . tungsten “ plugs ” ( not shown )) can be shared to some extent .