EE 230: Optical Fiber Communication Lecture 11

Detectors

From the movie

Warriors of the Net
Detector Technologies
Layer Structure Features
Simple, Planar,
MSM Semiinsulating GaAs
Low Capacitance
Low Quantum Efficiency
(Metal Semiconductor Metal)

Contact InGaAsP p 5x10 18 Trade-off Between

PIN Absorption InGaAs n- 5x10 14 Quantum efficiency
Contact InP n 1x10 19 and Speed

Contact InP p 1x10 18 Gain-Bandwidth:

Multiplication InP n 5x10 16 120GHz
APD Transition InGaAsP n 1x10 16 Low Noise
Absorption InGaAs n 5x10 14 Difficult to make
Contact InP n 1x10 18 Complex
Substrate InP Semi insulating

Waveguide Absorption Layer High efficiency

High speed
Guide Layers Difficult to couple into

Key: Absorption Layer

Contact layers
Photo Detection Principles

Bias voltage usually needed

to fully deplete the intrinsic “I”
Device Layer Structure region for high speed
operation

Band Diagram
showing carrier
movement in E-field

Light intensity as a Carriers absorbed here must

function of distance below diffuse to the intrinsic layer
before they recombine if they are
the surface
to contribute to the photocurrent.
Slow diffusion can lead to slow
“tails” in the temporal response.

(Hitachi Opto Data Book)

Current-Voltage Characteristic for a
Photodiode
Characteristics of Photodetectors

• Internal Number of Collected electrons

i   1  e W 
Number of Photons *Entering* detector
Quantum Efficiency

•External Number of Collected electrons i /q

Quantum efficiency e   ph  1 R p  1 e W 
Number of Photons *Incident* on detector Po / h

• Responsivity R
Photo Current (Amps) i
 ph 
q
1 Rp  1 eW 
Incident Optical Power (Watts) Po h

Fraction Transmitted
into Detector

P 
•Photocurrent i ph  q  o  1 R  1 e 
 W   RPo
 h 
p 

Incident Photon Flux Fraction absorbed in

(#/sec) detection region
Responsivity

Output current per unit incident light

power; typically 0.5 A/W

e
R M
h
Photodiode Responsivity
Detector Sensitivity vs. Wavelength

Absorption coefficient vs. Wavelength Photodiode Responsivity vs. Wavelength

for several materials for various materials
(Bowers 1987) (Albrecht et al 1986)
PIN photodiodes

Energy-band diagram p-n junction

Electrical Circuit
Basic PIN Photodiode Structure

Rear Illuminated Photodiode

Front Illuminated Photodiode

PIN Diode Structures

Diffused Type Diffused Type Etched Mesa Structure

(Makiuchi et al. 1990) (Dupis et al 1986) (Wey et al. 1991)

Diffused structures tend to have lower dark current than mesa etched structures although they are
more difficult to integrate with electronic devices because an additional high temperature processing
step is required.
Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs)

• High resistivity p-doped layer increases

electric field across absorbing region
• High-energy electron-hole pairs ionize
other sites to multiply the current
• Leads to greater sensitivity
 APD Detectors
 q 
Signal Current i s  M   P
 h 

APD Structure and field distribution (Albrecht 1986)

APDs Continued
Detector Equivalent Circuits
Rd

Iph Id Cd

PIN

Rd

Iph Id In Cd

APD
Iph=Photocurrent generated by detector
Cd=Detector Capacitance
Id=Dark Current
In=Multiplied noise current in APD
Rd=Bulk and contact resistance
 MSM Detectors
Light
Schottky barrier
•Simple to fabricate gate metal

•Quantum efficiency: Medium Semi insulating GaAs

Problem: Shadowing of absorption
region by contacts Simplest Version

•Capacitance: Low
To increase speed
•Bandwidth: High decrease electrode spacing
Can be increased by thinning absorption layer and and absorption depth
backing with a non absorbing material. Electrodes
must be moved closer to reduce transit time.
Absorption
•Compatible with standard electronic processes layer
GaAs FETS and HEMTs E Field
InGaAs/InAlAs/InP HEMTs Non absorbing substrate penetrates for
~ electrode spacing
into material
 Waveguide Photodetectors

•Waveguide detectors are suited for very high bandwidth applications

•Overcomes low absorption limitations
•Eliminates carrier generation in field free regions
•Decouples transit time from quantum efficiency
•Low capacitance
•More difficult optical coupling

(Bowers IEEE 1987)

Carrier transit time

Transit time is a function of depletion

width and carrier drift velocity

td= w/vd
Detector Capacitance
xp xn
Capacitance must be minimized for high
sensitivity (low noise) and for high speed
operation
P N
Minimize by using the smallest light collecting
area consistent with efficient collection of the
incident light

Minimize by putting low doped “I” region

p-n junction between the P and N doped regions to
A increase W, the depletion width
C w  xp  xn
W W can be increased until field required to fully
deplete causes excessive dark current, or
For a uniformly doped junction carrier transit time begins to limit speed.

1/ 2
A  2q 
C Nd Where: =permitivity q=electron charge
2 Vo  Vbi 
Nd=Active dopant density
1/ 2
2(Vo  Vbi ) 
W Vo=Applied voltage V bi=Built in potential

 qNd 

A=Junction area
Bandwidth limit

C=0K A/w

where K is dielectric constant, A is area,

w is depletion width, and 0 is the
permittivity of free space (8.85 pF/m)

B = 1/2RC
PIN Bandwidth and Efficiency Tradeoff
Transit time

=W/vsat

vsat=saturation velocity=2x107 cm/s

R-C Limitation
A
 RC  Rin
W

Responsivity
q
R
h
 
1  Rp 1  e W 

Diffusion

=4 ns/µm (slow)

Dark Current

Surface Leakage

Bulk Leakage

Surface Leakage Bulk Leakage

Ohmic Conduction Diffusion

Generation-recombination Generation-Recombination
via surface states
Tunneling

Usually not a significant noise source at high bandwidths for PIN Structures
High dark current can indicate poor potential reliability
In APDs its multiplication can be significant
Signal to Noise Ratio

S i p2 M 2

N 2q I p  I D M F M B  2qI L B  4k BTB / RL
2

ip= average signal photocurrent level

based on modulation index m where
2 2
m Ip
i 2
p 
2
Optimum value of M

x2 2qI L  4k BT / RL
M 
xqI p  I D 
opt

where F(M) = Mx and m=1

Noise Equivalent Power (NEP)

Signal power where S/N=1

Units are W/Hz1/2

h 4kT
NEP  2eI D M  2
x

e M RL
Typical Characteristics of P-I-N and
Avalanche photodiodes
Comparisons

• PIN gives higher bandwidth and bit rate

• APD gives higher sensitivity
• Si works only up to 1100 nm; InGaAs up
to 1700, Ge up to 1800
• InGaAs has higher  for PIN, but Ge
has higher M for APD
• InGaAs has lower dark current