Fiber-optic communication provides a major portion of the backbone of the Internet. As such, photonic devices such as lasers are used for lightwave signal transmission and photodiodes (PDs) are used for lightwave signal reception. These traditional photonic devices have parasitic inductances and parasitic capacitances that limit high frequency operation for high data rate applications such as 100 Gbps serial communications that are transmitted and received using lightwave signals. Moreover, a particularly sensitive photodiode, known as an avalanche photodiode (APD), is used in long haul (LH) fiber optic communication and requires a relatively high supply voltage of on the order of 50V and greater for proper operation. Thus, what is needed is an active photonic device that has substantially reduced parasitic inductances and reduced parasitic capacitances such that high data rates of 100 Gbps and higher are achievable using lightwave signals. Moreover, the needed active photonic device preferably operates with a relatively low supply voltage of around 3V.