A Theoretical Comparison of the Breakdown Behavior of \hbox\hbox\hbox and InP Near-Infrared Single-Photon Avalanche Photodiodes

• Published in: IEEE journal of quantum electronics 2009-05, Vol.45 (5), p.566-571
• Main Authors: Souye Cheong Liew Tat Mun, Chee Hing Tan, Dimler, S.J., Tan, L.J.J., Jo Shien Ng, Yu Ling Goh, David, J.P.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Avalanche breakdown; Avalanche photodiodes; Diodes; Electric breakdown; hbox{In}_{0.52}\hbox{Al}_{0.48}\hbox{As}; Indium phosphide; InP; Ionization; Probability; single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs); Statistics; Temperature distribution; Timing jitter; timing statistics
• ISSN: 0018-9197; 1558-1713
• DOI: 10.1109/JQE.2009.2013094

We study the breakdown characteristics and timing statistics of InP and In 0.52 Al 0.48 As single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs) with avalanche widths ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 mum at room temperature using a random ionization path-length model. Our results show that, for a given avalanche width, the breakdown probability of In 0.52 Al 0.48 As SPADs increases faster with over bias than InP SPADs. When we compared their timing statistics, we observed that, for a given breakdown probability, InP requires a shorter time to reach breakdown and exhibits a smaller timing jitter than In 0.52 Al 0.48 As. However, due to the lower dark count probability and faster rise in breakdown probability with over bias, In 0.52 Al 0.48 As SPADs with avalanche widths les 0.5 mum are more suitable for single-photon detection at telecommunication wavelengths than InP SPADs. Moreover, we predict that, in InP SPADs with avalanche widths les 0.3 mum and In 0.52 Al 0.48 As SPADs with avalanche widths les 0.2 mum, the dark count probability is higher than the photon count probability for all applied biases.