Excess noise factor of front and back-illuminated silicon avalanche photodiode

Philippe Bérard; Martin Couture; Richard J. Seymour

doi:10.1117/12.2557432

23 April 2020 Excess noise factor of front and back-illuminated silicon avalanche photodiode

Philippe Bérard, Martin Couture, Richard J. Seymour

Proceedings Volume 11388, Image Sensing Technologies: Materials, Devices, Systems, and Applications VII; 113880P (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2557432
Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

The structure of a silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) has a significant impact on the probability of light creating charge carriers and on the generated noise due to the multiplication process or excess noise factor (ENF). In this paper, we will review front-illuminated and back-illuminated APD structures and their impact on ENF as a function of wavelength from 400 nm to 1000 nm for recently commercially produced silicon APDs targeting LIDAR and other applications. The experimental setup developed for characterization will be described and highlight the differences between the studied structures. APDs with different junction profiles were produced and measurement of ENF was found to match McIntyre’s theory for experimental k-factors (ratio of the hole impact ionization rate to that of electrons) ranging from approximately 0.05 to 0.008. The generated illuminated noise as a function of responsivity can be used as a guideline to select the APD achieving the best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for a given application. To help meeting this condition, optimizing the electrical field profile of an APD and making certain the electrons are the primary carriers initiating the avalanche is critical.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Philippe Bérard, Martin Couture, and Richard J. Seymour "Excess noise factor of front and back-illuminated silicon avalanche photodiode", Proc. SPIE 11388, Image Sensing Technologies: Materials, Devices, Systems, and Applications VII, 113880P (23 April 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2557432

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