Determination of breakdown voltage of In_(0.53)Ga_(0.47)As/InP single photon avalanche diodes

We examine the saturation of relative current gain of In0.53 Ga0.47As/InP single photon avalanche diodes(SPADs) operated in Geiger mode.The punch-through voltage and breakdown voltage of the SPADs can be measured using a simple and accurate method.The analysis method is temperature-independent and can be applied to most SPADs.     

Numerical analysis of In0.53Ga0.47As/InP single photon avalanche diodes

A rigorous theoretical model for In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As/InP single photon avalanche diode is utilized to investigate the dependences of single photon quantum efficiency and dark count probability on structure and operation condition.In the model,low field impact ionizations in charge and absorption layers are allowed,while avalanche breakdown can occur only in the multiplication layer.The origin of dark counts is discussed and the results indicate that the dominant mechanism that gives rise to dark counts depends on both device structure and operating condition.When the multiplication layer is thicker than a critical thickness or the temperature is higher than a critical value,generation-recombination in the absorption layer is the dominative mechanism;otherwise band-to-band tunneling in the multiplication layer dominates the dark counts.The thicknesses of charge and multiplication layers greatly affect the dark count and the peak single photon quantum efficiency and increasing the multiplication layer width may reduce the dark count probability and increase the peak single photon quantum efficiency.However,when the multiplication layer width exceeds 1 μm,the peak single photon quantum efficiency increases slowly and it is finally saturated at the quantum efficiency of the single photon avalanche diodes.