Large-area 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes with high gain and low dark current for visible-blind ultraviolet detection

In this Letter, we report large-area(600 μm diameter) 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes(APDs) with high gain and low dark current for visible-blind ultraviolet detection. Based on the separate absorption and multiplication structure, 4H-SiC APDs passivated with SiN_xinstead of SiO_2 are demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Benefitting from the SiN_x passivation, the surface leakage current is effectively suppressed. At room temperature, high multiplication gain of 6.5 × 10~5 and low dark current density of 0.88 μA∕cm~2 at the gain of 1000 are achieved for our devices, which are comparable to the previously reported small-area Si C APDs.