Photodiode arrays having minimized cross-talk between diodes

Patent · Tue Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2000

OSTI ID:873318

Guckel, Henry ^[1]; McNamara, Shamus P ^[1]

---

1. Madison, WI

Photodiode arrays are formed with close diode-to-diode spacing and minimized cross-talk between diodes in the array by isolating the diodes from one another with trenches that are formed between the photodiodes in the array. The photodiodes are formed of spaced regions in a base layer, each spaced region having an impurity type opposite to that of the base layer to define a p-n junction between the spaced regions and the base layer. The base layer meets a substrate at a boundary, with the substrate being much more heavily doped than the base layer with the same impurity type. The trenches extend through the base layer and preferably into the substrate. Minority carriers generated by absorption of light photons in the base layer can only migrate to an adjacent photodiode through the substrate. The lifetime and the corresponding diffusion length of the minority carriers in the substrate is very short so that all minority carriers recombine in the substrate before reaching an adjacent photodiode.

• Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (Madison, WI)
• Patent Number(s): US 6133615
• Application Number: 09/059,141
• OSTI ID: 873318
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/257/
absorption
adjacent
array
arrays
base
base layer
boundary
carriers
carriers generated
close
corresponding
cross-talk
define
diffusion
diffusion length
diode array
diode arrays
diode-to-diode
diodes
doped
extend
formed
generated
heavily
heavily doped
impurity
isolating
junction
layer
length
lifetime
light
meets
migrate
minimized
minimized cross-talk
minority
minority carrier
minority carriers
opposite
p-n
p-n junction
photodiode
photodiode array
photodiode arrays
photodiodes
photons
preferably
reaching
recombine
region
regions
spaced
spacing
substrate
trenches
type