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
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microelectronics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)
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.
- OSTI ID:
- 20637015
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 86, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1861498; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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