Planar semiconductor InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diodes with high responsivity and low dark count rate are preferred single photon detectors in near-infrared communication.However,even with well-designed struct...Planar semiconductor InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diodes with high responsivity and low dark count rate are preferred single photon detectors in near-infrared communication.However,even with well-designed structures and well-con-trolled operational conditions,the performance of InGaAs/InP SPADs is limited by the inherent characteristics of avalanche pro-cess and the growth quality of InGaAs/InP materials.It is difficult to ensure high detection efficiency while the dark count rate is controlled within a certain range at present.In this paper,we fabricated a device with a thick InGaAs absorption region and an anti-reflection layer.The quantum efficiency of this device reaches 83.2%.We characterized the single-photon performance of the device by a quenching circuit consisting of parallel-balanced InGaAs/InP single photon detectors and single-period sinus-oidal pulse gating.The spike pulse caused by the capacitance effect of the device is eliminated by using the characteristics of parallel balanced common mode signal elimination,and the detection of small avalanche pulse amplitude signal is realized.The maximum detection efficiency is 55.4%with a dark count rate of 43.8 kHz and a noise equivalent power of 6.96×10^(−17 )W/Hz^(1/2) at 247 K.Compared with other reported detectors,this SPAD exhibits higher SPDE and lower noise-equivalent power at a higher cooling temperature.展开更多
This paper proposes two optimal designs of single photon avalanche diodes(SPADs) minimizing dark count rate(DCR). The first structure is introduced as p^+/pwell/nwell, in which a specific shallow pwell layer is added ...This paper proposes two optimal designs of single photon avalanche diodes(SPADs) minimizing dark count rate(DCR). The first structure is introduced as p^+/pwell/nwell, in which a specific shallow pwell layer is added between p^+and nwell layers to decrease the electric field below a certain threshold. The simulation results show on average 19.7%and 8.5% reduction of p^+/nwell structure’s DCR comparing with similar previous structures in different operational excess bias and temperatures respectively. Moreover, a new structure is introduced as n+/nwell/pwell, in which a specific shallow nwell layer is added between n+and pwell layers to lower the electric field below a certain threshold. The simulation results show on average 29.2% and 5.5% decrement of p^+/nwell structure’s DCR comparing with similar previous structures in different operational excess bias and temperatures respectively. It is shown that in higher excess biases(about 6 volts), the n+/nwell/pwell structure is proper to be integrated as digital silicon photomultiplier(dSiPM) due to low DCR. On the other hand, the p^+/pwell/nwell structure is appropriate to be utilized in dSiPM in high temperatures(above 50?C) due to lower DCR value.展开更多
A rigorous theoretical model for Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diode is utilized to investigate the dependences of single photon quantum efficiency and dark count probability on structure and operation co...A rigorous theoretical model for Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diode is utilized to investigate the dependences of single photon quantum efficiency and dark count probability on structure and operation condition. In the model, low field impact ionizations in charge and absorption layers are allowed, while avalanche breakdown can occur only in the multiplication layer. The origin of dark counts is discussed and the results indicate that the dominant mechanism that gives rise to dark counts depends on both device structure and operating condition. When the multiplication layer is thicker than a critical thickness or the temperature is higher than a critical value, generation-recombination in the absorption layer is the dominative mechanism; otherwise band-to-band tunneling in the multiplication layer dominates the dark counts. The thicknesses of charge and multiplication layers greatly affect the dark count and the peak single photon quantum efficiency and increasing the multiplication layer width may reduce the dark count probability and increase the peak single photon quantum efficiency. However, when the multiplication layer width exceeds 1 μm, the peak single photon quantum efficiency increases slowly and it is finally saturated at the quantum efficiency of the single photon avalanche diodes.展开更多
Gamma-ray(γ-ray)radiation for silicon single photon avalanche diodes(Si SPADs)is evaluated,with total dose of 100 krad(Si)and dose rate of 50 rad(Si)/s by using 60Co as theγ-ray radiation source.The breakdown voltag...Gamma-ray(γ-ray)radiation for silicon single photon avalanche diodes(Si SPADs)is evaluated,with total dose of 100 krad(Si)and dose rate of 50 rad(Si)/s by using 60Co as theγ-ray radiation source.The breakdown voltage,photocurrent,and gain have no obvious change after the radiation.However,both the leakage current and dark count rate increase by about one order of magnitude above the values before the radiation.Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurement results indicate that the traps caused by radiation function as generation and recombination centers.Both leakage current and dark count rate can be almost recovered after annealing at 200℃for about 2 hours,which verifies the radiation damage mechanics.展开更多
Avalanche photon diode and avalanche diode array, working in Geiger mode, have single photon detection capability. The structure of guard ring is the key factor to avoid the premature edge breakdown of the avalanche d...Avalanche photon diode and avalanche diode array, working in Geiger mode, have single photon detection capability. The structure of guard ring is the key factor to avoid the premature edge breakdown of the avalanche diode and increase the maximum bias voltage. A new structure of the guard ring is proposed in this letter, in which the floating guard ring is put outside the p-well guard ring. Simulation results indicate that the maximum bias voltage of the proposed guard ring is higher than that of the state-of-the-art methods.展开更多
In this paper, we present an improved circuit model for single-photon avalanche diodes without any convergence problems. The device simulation is based on Orcad PSpice and all the employed components are available in ...In this paper, we present an improved circuit model for single-photon avalanche diodes without any convergence problems. The device simulation is based on Orcad PSpice and all the employed components are available in the standard library of the software. In particular, an intuitionistic and simple voltage-controlled current source is adopted to characterize the static behavior, which can better represent the voltage-current relationship than traditional model and reduce computational complexity of simulation. The derived can implement the self-sustaining, self-quenching and the recovery processes of the SPAD. And the simulation shows a reasonable result that the model can well emulate the avalanche process of SPAD.展开更多
We demonstrate the photon-number resolution(PNR)capability of a 1.25 GHz gated InGaAs single-photon avalanche photodiode(APD)that is equipped with a simple,low-distortion ultra-narrowband interference circuit for the ...We demonstrate the photon-number resolution(PNR)capability of a 1.25 GHz gated InGaAs single-photon avalanche photodiode(APD)that is equipped with a simple,low-distortion ultra-narrowband interference circuit for the rejection of its background capacitive response.Through discriminating the avalanche current amplitude,we are able to resolve up to four detected photons in a single detection gate with a detection efficiency as high as 45%.The PNR capability is limited by the avalanche current saturation,and can be increased to five photons at a lower detection efficiency of 34%.The PNR capability,combined with high efficiency and low noise,will find applications in quantum information processing technique based on photonic qubits.展开更多
We examine the saturation of relative current gain of Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diodes （SPADs） operated in Geiger mode. The punch-through voltage and breakdown voltage of the SPADs can be measured u...We examine the saturation of relative current gain of Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diodes （SPADs） operated in Geiger mode. The punch-through voltage and breakdown voltage of the SPADs can be measured using a simple and accurate method. The analysis method is temperature-independent and can be applied to most SPADs.展开更多
We present a novel gated operation active quenching circuit （AQC）. In order to simulate the quenching circuit a complete SPICE model of a InGaAs SPAD is set up according to the I-V characteristic measurement resuits...We present a novel gated operation active quenching circuit （AQC）. In order to simulate the quenching circuit a complete SPICE model of a InGaAs SPAD is set up according to the I-V characteristic measurement resuits of the detector. The circuit integrated with a ROIC （readout integrated circuit） is fabricated in an CSMC 0.5 μm CMOS process and then hybrid packed with the detector. Chip measurement results show that the functionality of the circuit is correct and the performance is suitable for practical system applications.展开更多
An accurate and complete circuit simulation model for single-photon avalanche diodes （SPADs） is presented. The derived model is not only able to simulate the static DC and dynamic AC behaviors of an SPAD operating i...An accurate and complete circuit simulation model for single-photon avalanche diodes （SPADs） is presented. The derived model is not only able to simulate the static DC and dynamic AC behaviors of an SPAD operating in Geiger-mode, but also can emulate the second breakdown and the forward bias behaviors. In particular, it considers important statistical effects, such as dark-counting and after-pulsing phenomena. The developed model is implemented using the Verilog-A description language and can be directly performed in commercial simulators such as Cadence Spectre. The Spectre simulation results give a very good agreement with the experimental results reported in the open literature. This model shows a high simulation accuracy and very fast simulation rate.展开更多
The influence of the virtual guard ring width(GRW)on the performance of the p-well/deep n-well single-photon avalanche diode(SPAD)in a 180 nm standard CMOS process was investigated.TCAD simulation demonstrates that th...The influence of the virtual guard ring width(GRW)on the performance of the p-well/deep n-well single-photon avalanche diode(SPAD)in a 180 nm standard CMOS process was investigated.TCAD simulation demonstrates that the electric field strength and current density in the guard ring are obviously enhanced when GRW is decreased to 1μm.It is experimentally found that,compared with an SPAD with GRW=2μm,the dark count rate(DCR)and afterpulsing probability(AP)of the SPAD with GRW=1μm is significantly increased by 2.7 times and twofold,respectively,meanwhile,its photon detection probability(PDP)is saturated and hard to be promoted at over 2 V excess bias voltage.Although the fill factor(FF)can be enlarged by reducing GRW,the dark noise of devices is negatively affected due to the enhanced trap-assisted tunneling(TAT)effect in the 1μm guard ring region.By comparison,the SPAD with GRW=2μm can achieve a better trade-off between the FF and noise performance.Our study provides a design guideline for guard rings to realize a low-noise SPAD for large-array applications.展开更多
基金jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFB22-05202)National Natural Science Foundation of China(61774152)
文摘Planar semiconductor InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diodes with high responsivity and low dark count rate are preferred single photon detectors in near-infrared communication.However,even with well-designed structures and well-con-trolled operational conditions,the performance of InGaAs/InP SPADs is limited by the inherent characteristics of avalanche pro-cess and the growth quality of InGaAs/InP materials.It is difficult to ensure high detection efficiency while the dark count rate is controlled within a certain range at present.In this paper,we fabricated a device with a thick InGaAs absorption region and an anti-reflection layer.The quantum efficiency of this device reaches 83.2%.We characterized the single-photon performance of the device by a quenching circuit consisting of parallel-balanced InGaAs/InP single photon detectors and single-period sinus-oidal pulse gating.The spike pulse caused by the capacitance effect of the device is eliminated by using the characteristics of parallel balanced common mode signal elimination,and the detection of small avalanche pulse amplitude signal is realized.The maximum detection efficiency is 55.4%with a dark count rate of 43.8 kHz and a noise equivalent power of 6.96×10^(−17 )W/Hz^(1/2) at 247 K.Compared with other reported detectors,this SPAD exhibits higher SPDE and lower noise-equivalent power at a higher cooling temperature.
文摘This paper proposes two optimal designs of single photon avalanche diodes(SPADs) minimizing dark count rate(DCR). The first structure is introduced as p^+/pwell/nwell, in which a specific shallow pwell layer is added between p^+and nwell layers to decrease the electric field below a certain threshold. The simulation results show on average 19.7%and 8.5% reduction of p^+/nwell structure’s DCR comparing with similar previous structures in different operational excess bias and temperatures respectively. Moreover, a new structure is introduced as n+/nwell/pwell, in which a specific shallow nwell layer is added between n+and pwell layers to lower the electric field below a certain threshold. The simulation results show on average 29.2% and 5.5% decrement of p^+/nwell structure’s DCR comparing with similar previous structures in different operational excess bias and temperatures respectively. It is shown that in higher excess biases(about 6 volts), the n+/nwell/pwell structure is proper to be integrated as digital silicon photomultiplier(dSiPM) due to low DCR. On the other hand, the p^+/pwell/nwell structure is appropriate to be utilized in dSiPM in high temperatures(above 50?C) due to lower DCR value.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. G2001039302 and 007CB307001)the Guangdong Provincial Key Technology Research and Development Program,China (Grant No. 2007B010400009)
文摘A rigorous theoretical model for Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diode is utilized to investigate the dependences of single photon quantum efficiency and dark count probability on structure and operation condition. In the model, low field impact ionizations in charge and absorption layers are allowed, while avalanche breakdown can occur only in the multiplication layer. The origin of dark counts is discussed and the results indicate that the dominant mechanism that gives rise to dark counts depends on both device structure and operating condition. When the multiplication layer is thicker than a critical thickness or the temperature is higher than a critical value, generation-recombination in the absorption layer is the dominative mechanism; otherwise band-to-band tunneling in the multiplication layer dominates the dark counts. The thicknesses of charge and multiplication layers greatly affect the dark count and the peak single photon quantum efficiency and increasing the multiplication layer width may reduce the dark count probability and increase the peak single photon quantum efficiency. However, when the multiplication layer width exceeds 1 μm, the peak single photon quantum efficiency increases slowly and it is finally saturated at the quantum efficiency of the single photon avalanche diodes.
基金the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2017YFF0104801).
文摘Gamma-ray(γ-ray)radiation for silicon single photon avalanche diodes(Si SPADs)is evaluated,with total dose of 100 krad(Si)and dose rate of 50 rad(Si)/s by using 60Co as theγ-ray radiation source.The breakdown voltage,photocurrent,and gain have no obvious change after the radiation.However,both the leakage current and dark count rate increase by about one order of magnitude above the values before the radiation.Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurement results indicate that the traps caused by radiation function as generation and recombination centers.Both leakage current and dark count rate can be almost recovered after annealing at 200℃for about 2 hours,which verifies the radiation damage mechanics.
文摘Avalanche photon diode and avalanche diode array, working in Geiger mode, have single photon detection capability. The structure of guard ring is the key factor to avoid the premature edge breakdown of the avalanche diode and increase the maximum bias voltage. A new structure of the guard ring is proposed in this letter, in which the floating guard ring is put outside the p-well guard ring. Simulation results indicate that the maximum bias voltage of the proposed guard ring is higher than that of the state-of-the-art methods.
文摘In this paper, we present an improved circuit model for single-photon avalanche diodes without any convergence problems. The device simulation is based on Orcad PSpice and all the employed components are available in the standard library of the software. In particular, an intuitionistic and simple voltage-controlled current source is adopted to characterize the static behavior, which can better represent the voltage-current relationship than traditional model and reduce computational complexity of simulation. The derived can implement the self-sustaining, self-quenching and the recovery processes of the SPAD. And the simulation shows a reasonable result that the model can well emulate the avalanche process of SPAD.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62250710162 and 12274406)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFA1405100).
文摘We demonstrate the photon-number resolution(PNR)capability of a 1.25 GHz gated InGaAs single-photon avalanche photodiode(APD)that is equipped with a simple,low-distortion ultra-narrowband interference circuit for the rejection of its background capacitive response.Through discriminating the avalanche current amplitude,we are able to resolve up to four detected photons in a single detection gate with a detection efficiency as high as 45%.The PNR capability is limited by the avalanche current saturation,and can be increased to five photons at a lower detection efficiency of 34%.The PNR capability,combined with high efficiency and low noise,will find applications in quantum information processing technique based on photonic qubits.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China (Nos.G2001039302 and 007CB307001)the Guangdong Key Technologies R&D Program (No.2007B010400009)
文摘We examine the saturation of relative current gain of Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diodes （SPADs） operated in Geiger mode. The punch-through voltage and breakdown voltage of the SPADs can be measured using a simple and accurate method. The analysis method is temperature-independent and can be applied to most SPADs.
基金supported by the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Fund(No.BK2012559)
文摘We present a novel gated operation active quenching circuit （AQC）. In order to simulate the quenching circuit a complete SPICE model of a InGaAs SPAD is set up according to the I-V characteristic measurement resuits of the detector. The circuit integrated with a ROIC （readout integrated circuit） is fabricated in an CSMC 0.5 μm CMOS process and then hybrid packed with the detector. Chip measurement results show that the functionality of the circuit is correct and the performance is suitable for practical system applications.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province,China(No.BK20131379)
文摘An accurate and complete circuit simulation model for single-photon avalanche diodes （SPADs） is presented. The derived model is not only able to simulate the static DC and dynamic AC behaviors of an SPAD operating in Geiger-mode, but also can emulate the second breakdown and the forward bias behaviors. In particular, it considers important statistical effects, such as dark-counting and after-pulsing phenomena. The developed model is implemented using the Verilog-A description language and can be directly performed in commercial simulators such as Cadence Spectre. The Spectre simulation results give a very good agreement with the experimental results reported in the open literature. This model shows a high simulation accuracy and very fast simulation rate.
基金supported by the Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund of China(No.CX(21)3062)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.62171233).
文摘The influence of the virtual guard ring width(GRW)on the performance of the p-well/deep n-well single-photon avalanche diode(SPAD)in a 180 nm standard CMOS process was investigated.TCAD simulation demonstrates that the electric field strength and current density in the guard ring are obviously enhanced when GRW is decreased to 1μm.It is experimentally found that,compared with an SPAD with GRW=2μm,the dark count rate(DCR)and afterpulsing probability(AP)of the SPAD with GRW=1μm is significantly increased by 2.7 times and twofold,respectively,meanwhile,its photon detection probability(PDP)is saturated and hard to be promoted at over 2 V excess bias voltage.Although the fill factor(FF)can be enlarged by reducing GRW,the dark noise of devices is negatively affected due to the enhanced trap-assisted tunneling(TAT)effect in the 1μm guard ring region.By comparison,the SPAD with GRW=2μm can achieve a better trade-off between the FF and noise performance.Our study provides a design guideline for guard rings to realize a low-noise SPAD for large-array applications.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(62174166,11991063,U2241219)Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2019SHZDZX01,22JC1402902)the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB43010200)。
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(62174166,11991063,U2241219)Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2019SHZDZX01,22JC1402902)the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB43010200)。
