The design, the realization, and the characterization of silicon resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) photodetectors, working at 1.55 μm, are reported. The photodetectors are constituted by a Fabry-Perot microcavity incorporating a Schottky diode. The working principle is based on the internal photoemission effect. We investigated two types of structures: top and back-illuminated. Concerning the top-illuminated photodetectors, a theoretical and numerical analysis has been provided and the device quantum efficiency has been calculated …