Title :
Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes for laser communications and laser radar
Author :
Aull, B.F. ; Aversa, J.C. ; Dauler, E.A. ; Donnelly, J.P. ; Duerr, E.K. ; Frechette, J.P. ; Funk, J.E. ; Groves, S.H. ; Hopman, P.I. ; Jensen, K.E. ; Liau, Z.L. ; Mahan, J.M. ; Mahoney, L.J. ; McIntosh, K.A. ; Napoleone, Antonio ; Oakley, D.C. ; Ouellette
Author_Institution :
MIT Lincoln Lab., MIT, Lexington, MA
Abstract :
Arrays of photon-counting avalanche photodiodes (APDs) enable laser-communications and laser-radar receivers with unprecedented sensitivity at 1.06-mum wavelength. Near room temperature, the best detectors have: 50% photon detection efficiency, 30-kHz dark count rate, and a 1-mus reset time to avoid after-pulsing. Arrays with 64 elements were fabricated in the InGaAsP/InP materials system and were bump-bonded to a custom CMOS integrated circuit (IC) with a novel nonblocking architecture to continuously report both time-of-arrival for incoming photons as well as their spatial location on the array. Larger arrays with 1024 elements were mated to custom read-out ICs that report time and location data at lower duty cycles (typically 1-5%) and are appropriate for pulsed laser-radar systems
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; III-V semiconductors; avalanche photodiodes; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; optical arrays; optical radar; optical receivers; photodetectors; 30 kHz; 50 percent; CMOS integrated circuit; Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes; InGaAsP-InP; InGaAsP/InP materials; dark count rate; laser communications; laser radar; photon counting; photon detection efficiency; Avalanche photodiodes; CMOS integrated circuits; Detectors; Indium phosphide; Laser radar; Optical arrays; Optical receivers; Photonic integrated circuits; Radar detection; Temperature sensors;
Conference_Titel :
LEOS Summer Topical Meetings, 2006 Digest of the
Conference_Location :
Quebec City, Que.
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0090-2
DOI :
10.1109/LEOSST.2006.1694038
