Gain of a heterojunction bipolar phototransistor

Analytical expressions have been derived for the collector current, optical gain, and quantum efficiency for a heterojunction, bi-polar phototransistor (HPT). These expressions can be utilized to optimize the current gain and quantum efficiency for HPT design. The presence of avalanche multiplication in the base-collector junction has been taken into account and shown to be a significant factor in determining the gain of an InGaAs/InP phototransistor. Experimental results of optical gain versus the collector-emitter voltage can only be explained in terms Of avalanche multiplication.