Origin of dark counts in In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As/In{sub 0.52}Al{sub 0.48}As avalanche photodiodes operated in Geiger mode

A dark count rate in InP-based single photon counting avalanche photodiodes is a limiting factor to their efficacy. The temperature dependence of the dark count rate was studied to understand its origin in In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As/In{sub 0.52}Al{sub 0.48}As separate-absorption-charge-multiplicatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2005-02, Vol.86 (6)
Main Authors: Karve, G., Wang, S., Ma, F., Li, X., Campbell, J.C., Ispasoiu, R.G., Bethune, D.S., Risk, W.P., Kinsey, G.S., Boisvert, J.C., Isshiki, T.D., Sudharsanan, R., Credence Systems Corporation-DCG, 2593 Coast Avenue, Mountain View, California 94043, IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, California 95120-6099, Spectrolab Incorporated, 12500 Gladstone Avenue, Sylmar, California 91381
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABSORPTION
ALUMINIUM ARSENIDES
COUNTING RATES
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
INDIUM ARSENIDES
INDIUM PHOSPHIDES
MATERIALS SCIENCE
PHOTODETECTORS
PHOTODIODES
PHOTONS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SIMULATION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0065-0273 K
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
THIN FILMS
TUNNEL EFFECT
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A dark count rate in InP-based single photon counting avalanche photodiodes is a limiting factor to their efficacy. The temperature dependence of the dark count rate was studied to understand its origin in In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As/In{sub 0.52}Al{sub 0.48}As separate-absorption-charge-multiplication avalanche photodiodes. The dark count rate was observed to be a very weak function of temperature in the range from 77 K to 300 K. Various mechanisms for dark count generation were considered. Simulations of band-to-band tunneling in the In{sub 0.52}Al{sub 0.48}As multiplication layer were found to agree well with the experimental temperature dependence of dark count rate at various excess biases. To reduce tunneling-induced dark counts, a suitable design change to the detector structure is proposed.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.1861498