Avalanche detector with ultraclean response for time-resolved photon counting

Abstract

Experimental tests have been carried out for characterizing the performance of a new single-photon avalanche diode. The detector is specifically designed for picosecond timecorrelated single photon counting, aiming to obtain a time response free from the tail effects and/or secondary bumps observed in all other available single-photon detectors. The experimental results confirm that an unprecedented ultraclean response is attained, with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 35 ps, full width at a thousandth of the peak count of 214 ps, together with a photon detection efficiency of 35% around 580-nm wavelength.

Single photon avalanche detectors: prospects of new quenching and gain mechanisms

“…A FWHM of 55 ps [44] was achieved in the original double-epitaxial device, and a photon detection efficiency of roughly 9% for nearly 20 V overbias at 830 nm wavelength was reported [10]. The dual-junction SPAD [42] was an attempt to achieve smaller diffusion tail and superior photon-timing resolution by using two depletion regions. P ++ buried layers form a junction with the active p region, which joins the epistrate-substrate junction (Fig.…”

“…The thick depletion layer mitigates the carrier diffusion issues found in bulk Si SPADS but with a photon timing resolution of 350 ps measured in a time-correlated single photon counting setup with an active quenching configuration [42]. The Slik TM device also shows high quantum efficiency, achieving above 50% between 540 and 850 nm wavelength [41] and single photon detection efficiency greater than 50% between 600 and 800 nm wavelength at room temperature in a passive quenching configuration at an overbias of 20 V [10].…”

“…The active area is defined by the centre top highly doped p region, which is around 10-50 µm, and the breakdown voltage is around 15-50 V. The higher p-doping region was established in the cen- The design is similar to the planar epitaxial design, except the low resistance p++ layer is broken underneath the active region to allow for wider epistrate/substrate depletion region. From [42].…”

Geiger-Mode Avalanche Photodiodes in Standard CMOS Technologies

“…APD devices developed in planar technologies generate a thin depletion layer of few micrometers, being called thin APDs. These devices are generated by epitaxy over silicon wafers (Spinelli et al, 1998 Table 3 contains a summary of the published structures fabricated using planar technologies. See section 2-3 for details about termination.…”

“…Main objectives were the fabrication of SPAD integrated cameras (Charbon, 2007) and of large SPADs, which were restricted to the dedicated technologies (Ghioni et al, 2007). The first APDs in CMOS compatible technologies were published by research centers (Spinelli et al, 1998, Jackson et al, 2001. They were developed using the high voltage CMOS, HV-CMOS, technologies (Rochas et al, 2002 andZappa et al, 2004), as they provide a relatively low-doped deep n-well that allows up to 50 V of isolation from the substrate (Rochas et al, 2003a) and low noise detectors.…”