A multimechanism model for photon generation by silicon junctions in avalanche breakdown

Akil, N.; Kerns, S.E.; Kerns, D.V.; Hoffmann, A.; Charles, J.‐P.

doi:10.1109/16.760412

Cited by 115 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The relative flatness of the emission spectrum (at least up to 3 eV) is indicative of quite a large electric field in the device, with the 3 eV emissions only about 1 decade below the low energy peak at 1.45 eV. In comparison, previous experimental results [15], [20] showed at least two decades decrease in emission from 1.5 eV to 3 eV.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…It also follows from this that without the presence of a "signature" energy peak in the emission spectrum almost any theoretical photon generation method could be fitted to the smoothly decreasing emission spectrum. In fact, three separate mechanisms could easily be fitted to the emission spectrum with no discernable transition region from one mechanism to another [20].…”

Section: Hot Electron Energy Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spectral Characteristics of Hot Electron Electroluminescence in Silicon Avalanching Junctions

Plessis

Venter

Bellotti

2013

IEEE J. Quantum Electron.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Hot Electron Energy Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral Characteristics of Hot Electron Electroluminescence in Silicon Avalanching Junctions

Plessis

Venter

Bellotti

2013

IEEE J. Quantum Electron.

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“…More recent studies of Akil et al 28,29 address the physical mechanism of junction breakdown, showing that a combined theory of interband processes and Bremsstrahlung is necessary to describe the avalanche emission spectra of reversed bias silicon p-n junctions over its whole energy range.…”

Section: A Light Emission From Reverse-biased P-n Junctionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Luminescence emission from forward- and reverse-biased multicrystalline silicon solar cells

Bothe

Ramspeck

Hinken

et al. 2009

Journal of Applied Physics

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We study the emission of light from industrial multicrystalline silicon solar cells under forward and reverse biases. Camera-based luminescence imaging techniques and dark lock-in thermography are used to gain information about the spatial distribution and the energy dissipation at pre-breakdown sites frequently found in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. The pre-breakdown occurs at specific sites and is associated with an increase in temperature and the emission of visible light under reverse bias. Moreover, additional light emission is found in some regions in the subband-gap range between 1400 and 1700 nm under forward bias. Investigations of multicrystalline silicon solar cells with different interstitial oxygen concentrations and with an electron microscopic analysis suggest that the local light emission in these areas is directly related to clusters of oxygen.

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“…The spectrum of hot carrier emissions is relatively constant in silicon [1,5] and peaks somewhere above 500 nm. Due to the absoprtion coefficient of silicon, the wavelengths that contribute to internal optical crosstalk are primarily confined to 700-1000 nm.…”

Section: Optical Crosstalk Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 3. Prediction of emission spectra from LYSO scintillator and silicon avalanche [5] before and after filtering by Schott BG-39 colored glass. Emission spectra are normalized.…”

Section: Optical Crosstalk Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of SSPM surface coating on light collection efficiency and optical crosstalk for scintillation detection

Barton¹,

Stapels²,

Johnson³

et al. 2009

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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A dead region between pixels is required in solid-state photomultipliers (SSPMs) to reduce optical cross-talk to acceptable levels. This reduces the geometric fill factor, which then limits the maximum detection efficiency of the device. By placing an aluminum layer on the silicon wafer above this dead region, scintillation photons that impinge there may be reflected back into the crystal. They may be subsequently redirected towards a sensitive SSPM element. The scintillation photon collection efficiency of the proposed device will be greater than that predicted by the scintillation yield and the ratio of active area alone.Unfortunately the improved SSPM reflectivity also increases optical crosstalk, since photons emitted during avalanche breakdown may be externally redirected into neighboring pixels. The enhancement of this external optical crosstalk effect was determined through simulation to be of the same order as the improvement in PDE. However, as a function of excess bias, the rate of hot carrier emission will rise much more rapidly than the PDE, setting an upper limit on the applied bias.Due to spectral mismatch between detection and avalanche emission, the benefits from the gain in PDE will often outweigh the negative effects from additional crosstalk. The spatial dependence of externally-reflected hot carrier emissions was determined to be approximately uniform across the surface of the device. The probabilities of this new optical crosstalk mechanism will be used in conjunction with other previously studied noise mechanisms to form a complete stochastic model of the SSPM. Motivation

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A multimechanism model for photon generation by silicon junctions in avalanche breakdown

Cited by 115 publications

References 21 publications

Spectral Characteristics of Hot Electron Electroluminescence in Silicon Avalanching Junctions

Spectral Characteristics of Hot Electron Electroluminescence in Silicon Avalanching Junctions

Luminescence emission from forward- and reverse-biased multicrystalline silicon solar cells

Effect of SSPM surface coating on light collection efficiency and optical crosstalk for scintillation detection

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