Invited Paper

Improving the performance of Silicon Single Photon Avalanche Diodes

Angelo Gulinatti*a, Ivan Recha, Piera Maccagnanib, Massimo Ghionia,c, Sergio Covaa,c
a
Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 –
20133 Milano, Italy
b
IMM-CNR sezione di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti, 101 – 40129 Bologna, Italy
c
MPD Micro-Photon-Devices, via Stradivari 4 – 39100 Bolzano, Italy

ABSTRACT

Many applications require high performance Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPAD) either as single pixels or as small
arrays of detectors. Although currently available silicon devices reached remarkable performance, nevertheless further
improvements are needed in order to meet the requirements of most demanding time-resolved techniques.
In this paper we present a new planar silicon technology for the fabrication of SPAD detectors, aimed at improving the
Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE) of classical thin SPAD in the near infrared range while maintaining a good Temporal
Resolution (TR). Experimental characterization showed a significant increase in the PDE with a remarkable value of
40% at 800nm; a photon timing jitter as low as 93ps FWHM as been also attained, while other device performances,
such as Dark Count Rate (DCR) and Afterpulsing Probability (AP) are essentially unchanged, compared to thin SPAD.
Being planar, the new technology is also intrinsically compatible with the fabrication of arrays of detectors.
Keywords: Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD), Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE), Time Correlated Single
Photon Counting (TCSPC), Enhanced Photon Detection Efficiency, Red-Enhanced SPAD, RE-SPAD

1. INTRODUCTION
Thanks to the remarkable performance attained in the last years, Silicon Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPAD) are
now widely employed in many applications once dominated by photomultiplier tubes[1],[2],[3],[4]. Currently available
devices are in fact characterized by large active area, low dark count rate (DCR), high photon detection efficiency
(PDE), and excellent temporal resolution. However most of these properties are conflicting; for example DCR and
temporal resolution degrade as the active area is increased[5].
Thanks to the improvements in fabrication technology[6] and in device engineering[7] as well as to the development of
new front-end circuits[8],[9], the limits set by these trades-off have been moved considerably farther in the last few years.
For example are now available devices with an active area diameter of 200 μm, a temporal resolution of 35 ps FWHM
and a DCR of few thousands counts per seconds when cooled down to -15°C [10].
The only trade-off that has not really been faced is the one between PDE and temporal resolution. Actually, thin SPADs
are characterized by an excellent timing resolution (<35ps) but the reduced thickness of the absorption layer strongly
limits their PDE for wavelengths higher than 800nm[5]. Conversely, thick SPADs achieve good PDE even in the near
infrared range, but at the expense of a severe worsening in timing resolution[11]. Moreover, their fabrication technology is
inherently non-planar, impairing the fabrication of arrays of detectors[12].
Starting from the thin SPAD structure we developed a new planar silicon technology aimed at combining the advantages
of thin and thick SPAD. A 10-μm thick depleted layer guarantee a good absorption efficiency also in the near-infrared
range, while a suitable design of the electric field allow us to attain a good temporal resolution without degrading other
device performances like DCR, and afterpulsing probability. The methodology for the design of the new structure has
already been reported in literature[13]. In this paper we will present the first experimental results obtained on the new red-
enhanced SPAD (RE-SPAD). In particular, in Section 2 we will briefly introduce the thin SPAD structure along with its
limitations; in Section 3 we will review the guidelines adopted for the design of the new red-enhanced detectors; in
Section 4 we will present a thoroughly experimental investigation of the device performance compared to the results
attainable with classic thin and thick SPAD.

2. THIN SPAD: STRUCTURE, OPERATION AND LIMITATIONS

In principle a Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) is simply a p-n junction biased above the breakdown voltage, in a
meta-stable state in which no current flows through the device[14]. A single photon can be easily detected if the photon is

Advanced Photon Counting Techniques V, edited by Mark A. Itzler, Joe C. Campbell,

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8033, 803302 · © 2011 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/11/$18
doi: 10.1117/12.883863

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 Figure 1 Cross section of a typical double epitaxial thin SPAD.

absorbed into the device active layer and if a self–sustained avalanche is triggered. Despite the principle of operation is
quite simple, many device implementations exist, aimed at attaining the best performances for a specific application. In
this paragraph we will focus on thin SPADs since their structure is the starting point from which we developed the new
red-enhanced detectors.
Figure 1 reports a sketch of a typical thin SPAD designed at Politecnico di Milano[15],[5]. The cathode is obtained by
diffusing an n-type region (shallow n) into a p-type epitaxial layer. A boron implantation is used to reduce the
breakdown voltage in the central region of the device; the resulting tub, usually called enrichment, defines the active part
of the junction and prevents premature breakdown at the edge of the detector. Although the active junction is the core of
a SPAD, other regions are needed in order to assure a proper operation of the device. For example beneath the active
junction, a p+ epitaxial layer, know as buried layer, assures a low resistivity path for the current. Connection between
buried layer and anode contact is provided by a heavily-doped p-type region (sinker) that assures also the formation of an
ohmic contact. Another heavily doped region is built all around the device (isolation). Since that region is n-type and
since it extends vertically to the n-type substrate, by reverse biasing the anode-substrate junction it is possible to
electrically insulate the SPAD from any other device on the chip. A more detailed description of the structure as well as
of its advantages can be found in literature[5].
In order to understand which phenomena limit the PDE in this structure and how to design new devices that overcome
these limitations it is necessary to gain an insight in the photon detection process. To this aim, it possible to consider
Figure 2 in which it is reported a simplified one-dimensional sketch of the SPAD of Figure 1 along with a qualitative
electric field profile. Four different layers can be identified: the substrate, the multiplying space charge region and the
two neutral regions at the two sides of the space charge layer itself. Each region contributes to PDE in a different way.

Figure 2 One-dimensional sketch of the central region of the SPAD of Figure 1 (a) along with its qualitative electric field
profile (b).

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 (a) (b)

Figure 3 Doping concentration (a) and breakdown field (b) for a typical double epitaxial, thin SPAD.

If a photon is absorbed into the multiplying space charge region, the two photo-generated carriers are separated and
accelerated by the electric field. At least one of them crosses the high field region; however this does not guarantee that
an avalanche is triggered due to the inherently randomness of the impact ionization process. The probability that the
photon is detected is therefore given by the photon absorption probability times the avalanche triggering probability.
Quite different is the situation in which a photon is absorbed for example into the lower neutral region; while the hole
thermalizes, the minority electron moves randomly due to absence of a relevant electric field. It can reach the
multiplying space charge region, and therefore have a chance to trigger the avalanche, or it can get lost due to volume
recombination or to carrier capture at the lower space charge region. Consequently, in this case, the probability that a
photon is detected is limited also by the collection efficiency, defined as the probability that the photo-generated
minority carrier reaches the multiplying space charge region. Another crucial difference concerns the time in which the
photon is detected; while in the case of the absorption in the space charge region the carrier is promptly accelerated, in
the latter case the minority carrier can spend quite a long time moving randomly into neutral region before being
detected. This behavior introduces a random delay in the detection of these photons that results in a slow component in
the device temporal response, known as diffusion tail[5].
Similar in many respects, is the situation in which the photon is absorbed into the upper neutral region. Actually, there
are only a couple of differences. First of all the minority carrier is now a hole, with important consequences both from
the point of view of the PDE and of the TR; in particular it is well know that, in silicon, holes typically experiences an
avalanche triggering probability much lower than electrons[16],[17]. The other relevant difference is that the upper neutral
region is bounded by an oxide layer; therefore holes cannot escape at the upper interface, but they can get lost only by
recombination, in the volume or at the oxide interface. However, since the lifetime is order of magnitude larger than the
time that carriers spend in that region, recombination can be neglected and the collection efficiency for the holes can be
assumed unitary[18].
Finally, if a photon is absorbed into the n-type substrate, it will not be detected; in fact, also if the minority hole would
reach the depleted region edge, it will be collected at the anode contact without triggering the avalanche.

3. RED-ENHANCED SPAD: DESIGN GUIDELINES

From the previous paragraph it is evident that the basic limitation to the PDE at the long wavelengths comes from low
absorption efficiency. In fact, in typical thin SPADs, the overall thickness of the space charge region and of the two
neutral regions is of a few microns. Therefore, at the longer wavelengths, where the absorption length increases
considerably[19], only a small fraction of the photons are effective in triggering the avalanche. An obvious approach to
overcome this problem is to increase the overall thickness of the device active layer. In particular, it is possible to
increase the thickness either of the space charge region or of the lower neutral region. The latter is certainly the easier
solution to be implemented from a technological point of view since it does not influences the field profile inside the

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 (a)

(b)

Figure 4 Doping concentration (a) and breakdown field (b) for a classical thin SPAD (blue) and for a device obtained
simply by extending the low doped epitaxial layer (red).

device and it only requires to start the processing from a thicker epitaxial layer. However this approach presents some
remarkable drawbacks. First of all, the increase of the thickness of the neutral region results in a longer lifetime of the
diffusion tail and therefore in a worsening of the temporal response. Since, to a first instance, tail’s lifetime depends
quadratically on the thickness of the neutral region[15], the impact of this modification on timing performance is
particularly strong. On the other hand, this solution is not optimal also for improving the PDE since the additional photon
absorption takes place into the neutral region where the carriers collection efficiency is well below unity[18], [20].
A more effective approach requires therefore the increase of the thickness of the space charge region. However
stretching out this region is much more complicated than increasing the thickness of the neutral layer. This point can be
made clear by considering a prototype thin SPAD as the one depicted in Figure 3. In particular Figure 3.a represents the
doping profile along the central region of the device while Figure 3.b represents the corresponding electric field profile at
the breakdown voltage. As for the electric field, two different regions can be identified in Figure 3.b: the drift and the
multiplication regions. The latter is characterized by a high electric field and is where impact ionization takes place; on
the contrary the former has the only purpose of collecting photo-generated electrons and of accelerating them toward the
former.
At a first glance it seems that the space charge region can be extended simply by increasing the thickness of the lowly
doped epitaxial layer (p-). Red lines of Figure 4.a and Figure 4.b represent respectively the doping profile and the
breakdown field in a device obtained by following this approach. The first thing that can be noted is that the area

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 (a)

(b)

Figure 5 Doping concentration (a) and breakdown field (b) for a triple epitaxial device. The dose introduced during the
epitaxial growth has been chosen in order to obtain a drift field of 2·104V/cm at a depth of 8µm

subtended by the electric field, i.e. breakdown voltage, is considerably high with a value VBD of about 197V. Such a
high value is certainly a disadvantage since it increases the power dissipated during the avalanche, making more difficult
the cooling of the device with a Peltier stage. From Figure 4.b it is also evident that the main contribution to the
breakdown voltage comes from the area subtended by the electric field in the drift region.
A second thing to be observed is that the shape of the electric field in the multiplication region is slightly changed
despite the enrichment profile has not been modified at all. Such behavior can be ascribed once again at the high value of
the electric field in the drift region; in fact a value of about 2·105V/cm is enough to make that region slightly multiplying;
this results in a reduction of the field in the multiplication region since the impact ionization takes place in a wider layer.
Assuming that electric field profile of Figure 3.b was already optimized for a specific application, also a slightly change
in the multiplication field is really undesirable; in fact field profile in multiplication region strongly influences most of
the device performance including dark count rate, temporal response and avalanche probability. Therefore the extension
of the space charge region must be carried out without modifying the field profile in the multiplication region and by
reducing remarkably the value of the electric field in the drift region.
In order to attain this goal it is mandatory to add a suitable amount of dopant at the boundary between the multiplication
and the drift region. The remarkable depth at which the dopant has to be introduced prevents the use of an ion
implantation process. We decided therefore to introduce the dopant during the epitaxial growth. Figure 5.a and Figure 5.b
reports respectively an example of the doping profile and of the breakdown field attainable by using this approach.

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 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Wavelength (nm)

Figure 6 Comparison of the Photon Detection Efficiencies, as a function of the wavelength, for three different devices: a
typical thin SPAD from Politecnico di Milano (blue), a new red enhanced SPAD (red) and typical thick SPAD
from Perkin Elmer Optoelectronics (green).

In particular in Figure 5.a is possible to note the presence of a peak of dopant; its dose has been chose in order to obtain a
drift field of about 2·104 V/cm. On one hand, such a value is high enough to saturate the electron velocity, therefore
minimizing the carriers’ transit time dispersion across the drift region; on the other it is low enough to limits the
breakdown voltage. In particular, in the example of Figure 5.b the breakdown voltage has reduced to about 60V. It’s
worth noting also that the multiplication field is essentially unchanged, if compared to the prototype thin SPAD of Figure
3.a

4. RED-ENHANCED SPAD: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The guidelines discussed in the previous section have been used to design a new family of detectors aimed at attaining a
higher PDE in the near infrared region without sacrificing too much the device temporal response. These devices have
been subsequently manufactured on 4’’ silicon wafers in the IMM-CNR foundry in Bologna (Italy). Eventually, they
have been experimental characterized in electrical and optical laboratories at Politecnico di Milano (Italy).
In this section we will discuss the main performances of the new detectors and we will compare them with the results
attainable with typical thin and thick SPADs. However, before discussing the details of the experimental
characterization, it is useful to make some consideration about the biasing of the device. In fact, it is well known that
most of the SPAD performances are strongly affected by the overvoltage applied to the detector. Since some of them
improve as the overvoltage is increased, while others get worse, the optimum overvoltage to be applied depends on the
specific applications.
A characterization of device performance as a function of the overvoltage and a discussion about the optimum biasing to
be applied in different conditions is certainly beyond the scope of this paper. We decided to report here the experimental
results attained by operating the device at a fixed overvoltage of 20V. In fact, as will be clear later, this value allows us
to obtain a good trade-off between PDE and DCR and can be used in most applications.
4.1 Photon Detection Efficiency
In order to evaluate the PDE of the new devices we used a well-established experimental set-up. A commercially
available monochromator (ORIEL Spectraluminator 69050) is used to generate a nearly monochromatic light with a
wavelength selectable between 400 and 1000nm; an integrating sphere is used to diffuse the light in order to obtain a
uniform beam that is shined onto the device under test; a calibrated power meter is used to measure the intensity of the
light impinging onto the SPAD active area.
Figure 6 reports the PDE, as function of the wavelength, as measured on a red-enhanced SPAD, having a 50-µm diameter
active area and biased with of overvoltage of 20V. For the sake of comparison, on the same figure are reported also the
PDE of a thin SPAD (blue curve) and of a thick SPAD (green curve). In particular, the former is a classical thin device

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 Time (s) x 10
-9

Figure 7 Comparison between the Temporal Responses of a thin SPAD (blue) and of a red-enhanced SPAD (red).
Measurements have been performed at a wavelength of 820nm with unfocused light.

fabricated at Politecnico di Milano[7] and commercialized by Micro Photon Devices, while the latter is a device
commercialized by Perkin Elmer Optoelectronics[11] (now Excelitas Technologies).
Compared to the thin SPAD, the new design has allowed us to increase considerably the PDE in the red and in the near-
infrared range. For example, the PDE at a wavelength of 800 nm has increased more than a factor 2.5 reaching a
remarkable value of about 40%. The fact that the PDE of the thick SPAD is still higher in this spectral region should not
be surprising since it presents an absorption layer almost 3 time thicker than the red-enhanced device. However it should
be noted that the difference is not that pronounced.
As for the shorter wavelengths, the red-enhanced design presents a slight reduction in PDE if compared to the thin
SPAD. Based on the considerations made in the previous section, at a first instance this result can be quite surprising. In
fact, at the shorter wavelengths, most of the photons are absorbed near the surface, where the two devices are identical.
Since in this case most of the avalanches are triggered by holes, the obtained result indicates that the holes’ triggering
efficiency is lower in the red-enhanced SPAD. Therefore the overvoltage applied to the red-enhanced device is not high
enough to determine an increase ∆E in the electric field (with respect to the breakdown value) as high as in the thin
SPAD. In other terms, an overvoltage of 20V applied to red enhanced SPAD is not exactly equivalent to an overvoltage
of 5V applied to a thin SPAD. Increasing the overvoltage of a few Volts should allow to compensate the difference in
PDE at the shorter wavelengths. However this solution will be investigated in more detail in the future.
4.2 Temporal Response
In a Single Photon Avalanche Diode many phenomena affects the jitter related to the detection of a photon. Transit time
dispersion of the photo-generated carriers can give an important contribution to the jitter, especially when the space
charge region is made thicker. On the other hand also the intrinsic randomness of the avalanche build-up and propagation
processes can play a significant role. Although the dynamic associated to the latter processes is still not fully
understood[21], [22], nevertheless it has been widely demonstrated that the best timing performances can be obtained only if
the avalanche is detected when it is still confined in a small region around the seed point[8]. In order to meet this
requirement, the avalanche current can be injected in a suitable impedance and the corresponding voltage can be detected
with a low threshold comparator[9].
Such an approach has therefore been adopted for the experimental characterization of the new devices. In particular, the
current pick-up circuit has been connected to the least capacitive node (i.e. to the cathode) in order to limit the filtering
effects due to parasitic capacitances. Consequently the Active Quenching Circuit (AQC), needed for a proper operation
of the device, has been connected to the anode terminal. Although not strictly required, the same configuration has been
adopted also for PDE and DCR measurements.
In order to acquire the temporal response of the devices under investigation, a classical TCSPC scheme has been
adopted[23]. In particular, a semiconductor laser (ANTEL MPL 820) has been used to generate 10-ps width pulses at a

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 Time(s) x109

Figure 8 Comparison of the Temporal Responses of different kind of detectors: a thin SPAD from Politecnico di Milano
(blue), a red-enhanced SPAD (red), a typical thick SPAD (green) and a selected thick SPAD both from Perkin
Elmer Optoelectronics.

wavelength of 820 nm, while the statistical distribution of the photon detection delays has been acquired by means of a
commercially available TCSPC board (Becker & Hickl SPC 130). It’s worth noting that the light coming from the laser
has not been focused in a small spot inside the device active area; on the contrary it was almost uniformly distributed
over the entire detector.
Figure 7 reports the temporal response of a 50-μm diameter red-enhanced device (red curve), compared to the one of a
typical thin SPAD (blue curve). The latter has been biased at an overvoltage of 5V, while the red-enhanced one at an
overvoltage of 20V, according to the considerations made at the beginning of the paragraph.
In both the curves it is possible to recognize the presence of two different components: a nearly Gaussian peak, due to
the carriers photo-generated into the space charge region, and a slow tail, due to the photons absorbed into the neutral
regions of the device. Although similar, the two temporal responses present some noticeable differences.
First of all, the red-enhanced peak presents a broadening, due to the dispersion of carriers’ transit time across the drift
region; this results in a Full Width at Half Maximum of about 93 ps. Although larger than the 30-35 ps that are typical
for a thin SPAD, this value is suitable for most applications, including fluorescence lifetime measurement. Moreover, the
value obtained is really close to the fundamental limit set by the increased thickness of the drift region, as confirmed also
by numerical simulations.
The other point is that the tail’s life-time is slightly higher for the red-enhanced SPAD if compared to a typical thin
SPAD. However this is not an intrinsic limit of the new structure; actually, it is only due to the choice of using a thicker
buried layer in order to make the design more conservative. Therefore, in a new production run, it will be possible to
make the red-enhanced tail as fast as in thin SPADs, simply by starting the fabrication with a thinner buried layer.
Compared to thick SPAD, red-enhanced detectors present a far better temporal response. In fact, the former are
characterized by a photon timing jitter that ranges from a few to many hundreds of picoseconds FWHM. As an example,
in Figure 8 is reported in green the temporal response of a very typical thick SPAD module (SPCM-AQR)
commercialized by Perkin Elmer Optoelectronics[11] and characterized by a photon timing jitter of about 480 ps FWHM.
It’s worth noting that temporal response of the thick SPAD is considerably larger compared to red-enhanced not only in
the peak region, but over the entire time span. However it is well known that thick SPADs are not very reproducible
from the point of view of the temporal response; in particular the temporal response can significantly vary from one
device to another. Therefore by operating a selection is possible to find out also devices with a better photon timing jitter.
For example in Figure 8 is reported also the temporal response a very selected thick SPAD (in black) having a FWHM of
about 280ps. It’s is evident that also in this case the temporal response of the red-enhanced SPAD is better. Finally, it
should be noted that the temporal response of both the thick SPADs considered has been measured by focusing the light
in a small spot inside the active area; actually, working with an unfocused light gives far worse results. As opposite, as

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 Temperature (°C)

Figure 9 Dark Count Rate as a function of the temperature for a red-enhanced SPAD. Measurements have been taken at a
constant overvoltage of 20V as in the case of PDE and TR.

pointed out before, the temporal response of the red-enhanced and of the thin SPAD has been measure by using
unfocused light.
4.3 Dark Count Rate
In Single Photon Avalanche Diodes the presence of some defects or impurities inside the active volume can promote the
formation of an electron-hole pair even in the absence of a photon. The corresponding rate of avalanche triggering is
known as Dark Count Rate (DCR) and its fluctuations represent the main source of noise in this kind of detectors[14].
Since the main processes that lead to the formation of electron-hole pairs are thermally activated, the DCR are strongly
influenced by the temperature; therefore by cooling the device its noise can be considerably reduced.
Figure 9 reports the DCR, as a function of the temperature, for a red-enhanced device having a 50-µm diameter active
area. Measurements have been performed by cooling the device by means of a double stage Peltier cooler, while the
device temperature has been read thanks to a sensor thermally connected to the SPAD chip. For each temperature the
breakdown has been measured, and the biasing voltage has been adjusted in order to keep a constant overvoltage of 20V.
Although the active volume is considerably larger, due to the increased thickness of the depleted layer, nevertheless the
room temperature dark count rate is almost the same as in a thin SPAD with the same active diameter[7]. This is one of
the advantages of the adopted structure. In fact the phenomena responsible for the detector noise are enhanced by the
electric field; therefore the choice to keep low the field in the drift region makes negligible the contribution given by the
region itself.
From Figure 9 it is also evident that, by moderately cooling the detector to about -5°C, it is possible to reduce the DCR
down to about 20 cps. This is another advantage of the guidelines adopted for the design of this new family of detectors.
In fact, the use of a triple-epitaxial layer has allowed us to keep unvaried the electric field in the multiplication region
and therefore to benefit of the electric field profile engineering already accomplished in past[7]. In particular a suitable
electric field profile makes negligible the band to band tunneling effects that otherwise would have limited the reduction
of the DCR as the temperature is decreased.
4.4 Breakdown Voltage
Breakdown voltage has been measured on the manufactured devices by using an analog curve tracer (Tektronix 370
Programmable Curve Tracer). Table 1 reports the results obtained on red-enhanced devices compared to typical values
for both thin and thick SPADs. With a typical value of about 50V, the breakdown voltage of this new kind of detectors is
larger than in thick SPAD, but remarkably lower than the 3 to 5 hundreds Volts that are typical of the thick SPADs. A
low breakdown value allows for a considerable reduction in power dissipation with evident advantages in term of
reliability and easiness of operation. This is once again an advantage of the adopted structure.

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 Table 1. Typical breakdown voltages for different kind of SPAD detectors.

Device Family Breakdown Voltage

Thin SPAD 30 – 35 V

RE-SPAD 45 – 50 V

Thick SPAD 300 – 500 V

5. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we presented a new technology for the fabrication of Single Photon Avalanche Diodes aimed at improving
the Photon Detection Efficiency of currently available thin SPAD while maintaining a good temporal response.
Experimental characterization showed a considerable improvement in PDE with a remarkable value of 40% at a
wavelength of 800nm; a photon timing jitter as low as 93ps FWHM as also been attained, while other device
performances, such as Dark Count Rate and Afterpulsing Probability are essentially unchanged, compared to thin
SPADs. Being planar, the new technology is also intrinsically compatible with the fabrication of arrays of detectors.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported the EC grant agreement n. 232359 (PARAFLUO) FP7 – SME – 2008 – 1 and by EC grant
agreement n. 248095 (Q-ESSENCE) FP7 – ICT – 2009 – 4.

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