In this work, we demonstrate record low dark current operation of InGaAs (1.55 &mgr;m)p‐i‐nphotodetectors on both silicon and gallium arsenide substrates using a wafer bonding technique. The photodetectors were made by first bonding thep‐i‐nepitaxial layers to the Si and GaAs substrate followed by chemical removal of the host (InP) substrate from thep‐i‐nstructure. The photodetector was then fabricated atop the newly exposedp‐i‐nepilayers. Dark currents of as low as 57 pA on a GaAs substrate and 0.29 nA on a Si substrate were measured under 5 V reverse bias. The responsivity at 1.55 &mgr;m wavelength was measured to be 1 A/W, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 80%. The series resistance measured across the bonded interface gave 17 &OHgr; on GaAs and 350 &OHgr; on Si, respectively. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.