Title :
Excess noise characteristics of Al/sub 0.8/Ga/sub 0.2/As avalanche photodiodes
Author :
Ng, B.K. ; David, J.P.R. ; Tozer, R.C. ; Hopkinson, M. ; Hill, G. ; Rees, G.J.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. & Electr. Eng., Univ. of Sheffield, UK
fDate :
4/1/2002 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The avalanche noise characteristics of Al/sub 0.8/Ga/sub 0.2/As have been measured in a range of p-i-n and n-i-p diodes with i-region widths /spl omega/ varying from 1.02 to 0.02 μm. While thick bulk diodes exhibit low excess noise from electron initiated multiplication, owing to the large /spl alpha///spl beta/ ratio (1/k), the excess noise of diodes with /spl omega/ < 0.31 μm were found to be greatly reduced by the effects of dead space. The thinnest diodes exhibit very low excess noise, corresponding to k = 0.08, up to a multiplication value of 90. In contrast to most III-V materials, it was found that both thick and thin Al/sub 0.8/Ga/sub 0.2/As multiplication layers can give very low excess noise and that electrons must initiate multiplication to minimize excess noise, even in thin structures.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; avalanche photodiodes; gallium arsenide; optical noise; p-i-n photodiodes; 1.02 to 0.02 micron; Al/sub 0.8/Ga/sub 0.2/As; Al/sub 0.8/Ga/sub 0.2/As avalanche photodiodes; III-V materials; avalanche noise characteristics; dead space; electron initiated multiplication; excess noise characteristics; i-region widths; low excess noise; multiplication; multiplication value; n-i-p diodes; p-i-n diodes; thick bulk diodes; thin Al/sub 0.8/Ga/sub 0.2/As multiplication layers; thin structures; thinnest diodes; very low excess noise; Avalanche photodiodes; Charge carrier processes; Electrons; Ionization; Noise measurement; Noise reduction; P-i-n diodes; PIN photodiodes; Photonic band gap; Signal to noise ratio;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
