Characterization of novel active area silicon avalanche photodiodes operating in the Geiger mode
Authors: D. M. Taylor1; J. C. Jackson2; A. P. Morrison3; A. Mathewson4; J. G. Rarity5
Source: Journal of Modern Optics, Volume 51, Numbers 9-10, 15 June-10 July 2004 , pp. 1323-1332(10)
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd
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Abstract:
We present a method for characterizing avalanche photodiode (APD) photon-counting detector efficiency as a function of active area. Various shallow-junction silicon APDs having a novel active area were manufactured and tested. We show that cylindrical and checkquerboard-shaped active areas have dark counts two orders of magnitude lower than standard circular devices with an equivalent active area. A parallel implementation of small active areas creates gettering sites for defects to migrate to, which is believed to create relatively defect-free active areas as the perimeter-to-area ratio is increased. However, a compromise between a large perimeter-to-area ratio and a structure useful for practical applications must be considered to optimize the detector.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1080/09500340410001674420
Affiliations: 1: QinetiQ Malvern UK, Email: dmtaylor2@qinetiq.com 2: Photon Detection Systems Ltd Ireland 3: University College Cork Cork Ireland 4: National Microelectronic Research Centre Cork Ireland 5: University of Bristol Bristol UK
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