Photo Detectors
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Module 9 : Photo Detectors Lecture : Photodiodes
9.5 P-I-N Photodiode : The width of the depletion layer may be increased artificially, by adding an intermediate intrinsic region. As the intrinsic region has high resistance, a small reverse bias is good enough to increase the width of the depletion region so that it extends into the n-layer. A further advantage of a p-i-n diode is that the charge separation in the active region is larger which leads to smaller junction capacitance.
The charge density and the electric field for a p-i-n detector is shown alongside. The electric field in the intrinsic region is uniform and has a magnitude , where, as in the case of the p-n photodiode,
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2/1/2011 9:10 PM
Photo Detectors
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Module 9 : Photo Detectors Lecture : Photodiodes From Eqn. (E) derived for the p-n junction photodiode, replacing and the applied reverse bias , by , the algebraic sum of the built in voltage
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2/1/2011 9:11 PM
Photo Detectors
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Module 9 : Photo Detectors Lecture : Photodiodes The width of the depletion region is then given by
where
is the width of the intrinsic layer.
Exercise : Derive the above expression for Exercise : A Si p-i-n diode with atoms/m atoms/m has an intrinsic i-layer of width 5 m. Taking the .
intrinsic carrier concentration of Si to be operated with a reverse bias of 10 V. (Ans. m).
/m , calculate the width of the depletion region when the diode is
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2/1/2011 9:12 PM
Photo Detectors
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Module 9 : Photo Detectors Lecture : Photodiodes 9.6 Avalanche Photodiode (APD) : A major disadvantage of a p-n or a p-i-n diode is that each photon generates only one pair of electron and hole and there is no internal gain. Amplifying the output current after the detector stage introduces significant noise. One of the ways to deal with this problem is to design a detector with an internal gain (the other is to amplify the optical signal itsdelf). An avalanche photodiode (APD) is a device with internal gain which could be as high as 100. Si - APDs have sensitivities in the range 400 to 1100 nm while Ge-APDs have their spectral sensitivities in 800 to 1550 nm. InGaAs and InP APDs provide better sensitivity and spectral response. APDs are essentially p-n photodiodes operated under reverse bias near the breakdown voltage. The configuration consists of an n+ layer followed, in sequence, by (i) a thin p-layer, (ii) an intrinsic layer (in reality, a lightly doped p layer) and (iii) a heavily doped p-layer. The electric field distribution is shown. The field strength is maximum at the n+p junction.
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2/1/2011 9:13 PM
Photo Detectors
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Module 9 : Photo Detectors Lecture : Photodiodes Exercise : Assuming constant charge densities as was done for the p-n and p-i-n diodes, obtain the electric field distribution for an APD. The electron- hole pair generated by light absorption remain separated by the electric field in the intrinsic region with the electrons drifting towards the lightly doped p-region and holes towards the p+ region. As an electron reach the region of strong electric field, it has a high kinetic energy. When such an energetic electron collides with the lattice, it may generate a new pair of electron and a hole. Such seceondary carriers may accelerate and create additional pairs leading to an avalanche cascade. In the figure, when the primary electron reaches the point A, it can, by impact, excite an electron from the point C in the valence band to the point D in the conduction band. In doing so, the first electron makes a transition to the point B and the excited electron leaves behind a hole at the point C.
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2/1/2011 9:14 PM
Photo Detectors
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Module 9 : Photo Detectors Lecture : Photodiodes The overall gain is given by a multiplication factor pair. Let ionization) creates an electron hole pair. Empirically, , which defined as the number of carrier pairs generated from a single is given by the formula
be the probability of a single electron (electrons, rather than a holes, are generally responsible for impact
where
is the applied reverse bias,
is breakdown voltage and
is an experimentally determined number.
The total number of pairs produced in all generations is
The optimal value of is between 3 and 9. The responsivity of the APD is therefore increased by the multiplication factor
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2/1/2011 9:16 PM
