InGaAs/InAlAs Avalanche Photodiode With Low Dark Current for High-Speed Operation

Xie, Shiyu; Zhang, Shiyong; Tan, Chee Hing

doi:10.1109/lpt.2015.2439153

“…The k value of a commercial Si APD is also measured for comparison. The test results are in agreement with the literature [3,7,8].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…With this measurement setup, it is not possible to distinguish between the noise generated by the leakage current and that generated by the photocurrent. Therefore, to ensure accuracy, measurements were only taken when the photocurrent was at least two orders of magnitude greater than the leakage current [6,7]. (A comparison table of the previously reported works is shown in table S1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess noise factor measurement for low-noise high-speed avalanche photodiodes

Liu,

Yang,

Wang

et al. 2023

Phys. Scr.

1

0

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The excess noise factor(F) is an important parameter for Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs), indicating the extent to which the noise of the diodes exceeds what it would be without multiplication. This paper presents a method of measuring the excess noise factor for high-speed low-noise APDs using the high-sensitivity spectrum analyzer. The F factor test for the high-speed low-noise APDs was performed by comparing two conditions with and without illumination to remove the interference of the system, including the thermal noise and analyzers. The setup conditions of the light source are analyzed in detail. The F factor was obtained as 3.03 when the multiplication factor M is 10, which corresponds to an effective ionization coefficient ratio k of 0.14 for the high-speed InAlAs APD. For comparison, the k value of a commercial Si APD is tested to be ~0.06.

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“…and is the average of 10 different devices. Reference lines for the theoretical excess noise of APDs with varying k-values calculated using McIntyre's local model, and the expected excess noise performance of typical APDs that use InAlAs8,12 or InP13 as the avalanche layer are also shown for comparison.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-noise AlGaAsSb avalanche photodiodes for 1550nm light detection

Collins¹,

White²,

Cao

³

et al. 2022

Optical Components and Materials XIX

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The optical detector used in pulsed LIDAR, range finding and optical time domain reflectometry systems is typically the limiting factor in the system's sensitivity. It is well-known that an avalanche photodiode (APD) can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio over a PIN detector, however, APDs operating at the eye-safe wavelengths around 1550 nm are limited in sensitivity by high excess noise. The underlying issue is that the impact ionization coefficient of InAlAs and InP used as the avalanche region in current commercial APDs are very similar at high gain, leading to poor excess noise performance. Recently, we have demonstrated extremely low noise from an Al(Ga)AsSb PIN diode with highly dissimilar impact ionization coefficients due to electron dominated impact ionization.In this paper, we report on the first low noise InGaAs/AlGaAsSb separate absorption, grading and multiplication APDs operating at 1550 nm with extremely low excess noise factor of 1.93 at a gain of 10 and 2.94 at a gain of 20. Furthermore, the APD's dark current density was measured to be 74.6 µA/cm 2 at a gain of 10 which is competitive with commercial devices. We discuss the impact of the excess noise, dark current and responsivity on the APDs sensitivity and, project a noise-equivalent power (NEP) below 80 fW/Hz 0.5 from a 230 µm diameter APD and commercial transimpedance amplifier (TIA). The prospects for the next generation of extremely low noise APDs for 1550 nm light detection are discussed.

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“…The room temperature F(M) characteristics of the AlGaAsSb APD is presented as the mean value of from 3 devices in Figure 2(a). For comparison, F(M) characteristics for varying k expected from Equation 1 as well as typical APDs with Si 11 , InP 12 or InAlAs 13,14 avalanche layers are also included. The excess noise factor of the AlGaAsSb SAM APD was found to be 1.06 at a gain of 10 and 1.9 at 40.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-noise AlGaAsSb avalanche photodiodes for 1550 nm light detection

Collins¹,

Sheridan²,

Price³

et al. 2023

Optical Components and Materials XX

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The optical detector used in pulsed LIDAR, range finding and optical time domain reflectometry systems is typically the limiting factor in the system's sensitivity. It is well-known that an avalanche photodiode (APD) can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio over a PIN detector, however, APDs operating at the eye-safe wavelengths around 1550 nm are limited in sensitivity by high excess noise. The underlying issue is that the impact ionization coefficient of InAlAs and InP used as the avalanche region in current commercial APDs are very similar at high gain, leading to poor excess noise performance. Recently, we have demonstrated extremely low noise from an Al(Ga)AsSb PIN diode with highly dissimilar impact ionization coefficients due to electron dominated impact ionization.In this paper, we report on the first low noise InGaAs/AlGaAsSb separate absorption, grading and multiplication APDs operating at 1550 nm with extremely low excess noise factor of 1.93 at a gain of 10 and 2.94 at a gain of 20. Furthermore, the APD's dark current density was measured to be 74.6 µA/cm 2 at a gain of 10 which is competitive with commercial devices. We discuss the impact of the excess noise, dark current and responsivity on the APDs sensitivity and, project a noise-equivalent power (NEP) below 80 fW/Hz 0.5 from a 230 µm diameter APD and commercial transimpedance amplifier (TIA). The prospects for the next generation of extremely low noise APDs for 1550 nm light detection are discussed.

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InGaAs/InAlAs Avalanche Photodiode With Low Dark Current for High-Speed Operation

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

Excess noise factor measurement for low-noise high-speed avalanche photodiodes

Excess noise factor measurement for low-noise high-speed avalanche photodiodes

Low-noise AlGaAsSb avalanche photodiodes for 1550nm light detection

Low-noise AlGaAsSb avalanche photodiodes for 1550 nm light detection

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