This paper reports the photocapacitance effect of silicon-based single-photon avalanche diodes(SPADs),and the frequency scattering phenomenon of capacitance.The test results of the small-signal capacitance-voltage met...This paper reports the photocapacitance effect of silicon-based single-photon avalanche diodes(SPADs),and the frequency scattering phenomenon of capacitance.The test results of the small-signal capacitance-voltage method show that light can cause the capacitance of a SPAD device to increase under low-frequency conditions,and the photocapacitance exhibits frequency-dependent characteristics.Since the devices are fabricated based on the standard bipolar-CMOS-DMOS process,this study attributes the above results to the interfacial traps formed by Si-SiO_(2),and the illumination can effectively reduce the interfacial trap lifetime,leading to changes in the junction capacitance inside the SPAD.Accordingly,an equivalent circuit model considering the photocapacitance effect is also proposed in this paper.Accurate analysis of the capacitance characteristics of SPAD has important scientific significance and application value for studying the energy level distribution of device interface defect states and improving the interface quality.展开更多
A near-infrared single-photon detection system is established by using pigtailed InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes. With a 50GHz digital sampling oscilloscope, the function and process of gated-mode （Geiger-mode） sin...A near-infrared single-photon detection system is established by using pigtailed InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes. With a 50GHz digital sampling oscilloscope, the function and process of gated-mode （Geiger-mode） single-photon detection are intuitionally demonstrated for the first time. The performance of the detector as a gated-mode single-photon counter at wavelengths of 1310 and 1550nm is investigated. At the operation temperature of 203K,a quantum efficiency of 52% with a dark count probability per gate of 2.4 × 10 ^-3 ,and a gate pulse repetition rate of 50kHz are obtained at 1550nm. The corresponding parameters are 43%, 8.5 × 10^-3 , and 200kHz at 238K.展开更多
Dark count is one of the inherent noise types in single-photon diodes,which may restrict the performances of detectors based on these diodes.To formulate better designs for peripheral circuits of such diodes,an accura...Dark count is one of the inherent noise types in single-photon diodes,which may restrict the performances of detectors based on these diodes.To formulate better designs for peripheral circuits of such diodes,an accurate statistical behavioral model of dark current must be established.Research has shown that there are four main mechanisms that contribute to the dark count in single-photon avalanche diodes.However,in the existing dark count models only three models have been considered,thus leading to inaccuracies in these models.To resolve these shortcomings,the dark current caused by carrier diffusion in the neutral region is deduced by multiplying the carrier detection probability with the carrier particle current at the boundary of the depletion layer.Thus,a comprehensive dark current model is constructed by adding the dark current caused by carrier diffusion to the dark current caused by the other three mechanisms.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first dark count simulation model into which incorporated simultaneously are the thermal generation,trap-assisted tunneling,band-to-band tunneling mechanisms,and carrier diffusion in neutral regions to evaluate dark count behavior.The comparison between the measured data and the simulation results from the models shows that the proposed model is more accurate than other existing models,and the maximum of accuracy increases up to 31.48%when excess bias voltage equals 3.5 V and temperature is 50℃.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
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
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
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
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
Tunneling is studied in two main single-photon avalanche diode （SPAD） topologies, which are r^-tub guard ring （NTGR） and p-tub guard ring （PTGR）. Device sinmlation, I - V measurements, and dark count calculation...Tunneling is studied in two main single-photon avalanche diode （SPAD） topologies, which are r^-tub guard ring （NTGR） and p-tub guard ring （PTGR）. Device sinmlation, I - V measurements, and dark count calculations and measurements demonstrate that tunneling is the main source of noise in NTGR, but it is less dominant in PTGR SPADs. All structures are characterized with respect to dark noise, photon detection probability, tinting jitter, afterpulsing probability, and breakdown voltage. Noise performmme is disturbed because of tunneling, whereas jitter performance is disturbed because of the short diffusion time of photo-generated minority carriers in NTGR SPADs. The maximum photon detection probability is enhanced because of an improvement in absorption thickness.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
A compact pixel for single-photon detection in the analog domain is presented. The pixel integrates a single-photon avalanche diode(SPAD), a passive quenching & active recharging circuit(PQARC), and an analog coun...A compact pixel for single-photon detection in the analog domain is presented. The pixel integrates a single-photon avalanche diode(SPAD), a passive quenching & active recharging circuit(PQARC), and an analog counter for fast and accurate sensing and counting of photons. Fabricated in a standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology, the simulated and experimental results reveal that the dead time of the PQARC is about 8 ns and the maximum photon-counting rate can reach 125 Mcps(counting per second). The analog counter can achieve an 8-bit counting range with a voltage step of 6.9 mV. The differential nonlinearity(DNL) and integral nonlinearity(INL) of the analog counter are within the ± 0.6 and ± 1.2 LSB, respectively, indicating high linearity of photon counting. Due to its simple circuit structure and compact layout configuration, the total area occupation of the presented pixel is about 1500 μm^(2), leading to a high fill factor of 9.2%. The presented in-pixel front-end circuit is very suitable for the high-density array integration of SPAD sensors.展开更多
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.62174052 and 61827812)Hunan Science and Technology Department Huxiang High-level Talent Gathering Project(Grant No.2019RS1037)+1 种基金Innovation Project of Science and Technology Department of Hunan Province(Grant No.2020GK2018)Postgraduate Scientific Research Innovation Project of Hunan Province(Grant No.QL20210131).
文摘This paper reports the photocapacitance effect of silicon-based single-photon avalanche diodes(SPADs),and the frequency scattering phenomenon of capacitance.The test results of the small-signal capacitance-voltage method show that light can cause the capacitance of a SPAD device to increase under low-frequency conditions,and the photocapacitance exhibits frequency-dependent characteristics.Since the devices are fabricated based on the standard bipolar-CMOS-DMOS process,this study attributes the above results to the interfacial traps formed by Si-SiO_(2),and the illumination can effectively reduce the interfacial trap lifetime,leading to changes in the junction capacitance inside the SPAD.Accordingly,an equivalent circuit model considering the photocapacitance effect is also proposed in this paper.Accurate analysis of the capacitance characteristics of SPAD has important scientific significance and application value for studying the energy level distribution of device interface defect states and improving the interface quality.
文摘A near-infrared single-photon detection system is established by using pigtailed InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes. With a 50GHz digital sampling oscilloscope, the function and process of gated-mode （Geiger-mode） single-photon detection are intuitionally demonstrated for the first time. The performance of the detector as a gated-mode single-photon counter at wavelengths of 1310 and 1550nm is investigated. At the operation temperature of 203K,a quantum efficiency of 52% with a dark count probability per gate of 2.4 × 10 ^-3 ,and a gate pulse repetition rate of 50kHz are obtained at 1550nm. The corresponding parameters are 43%, 8.5 × 10^-3 , and 200kHz at 238K.
基金Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province,China(Grant No.LY17F010022)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.61372156)。
文摘Dark count is one of the inherent noise types in single-photon diodes,which may restrict the performances of detectors based on these diodes.To formulate better designs for peripheral circuits of such diodes,an accurate statistical behavioral model of dark current must be established.Research has shown that there are four main mechanisms that contribute to the dark count in single-photon avalanche diodes.However,in the existing dark count models only three models have been considered,thus leading to inaccuracies in these models.To resolve these shortcomings,the dark current caused by carrier diffusion in the neutral region is deduced by multiplying the carrier detection probability with the carrier particle current at the boundary of the depletion layer.Thus,a comprehensive dark current model is constructed by adding the dark current caused by carrier diffusion to the dark current caused by the other three mechanisms.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first dark count simulation model into which incorporated simultaneously are the thermal generation,trap-assisted tunneling,band-to-band tunneling mechanisms,and carrier diffusion in neutral regions to evaluate dark count behavior.The comparison between the measured data and the simulation results from the models shows that the proposed model is more accurate than other existing models,and the maximum of accuracy increases up to 31.48%when excess bias voltage equals 3.5 V and temperature is 50℃.
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.
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.
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 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.
文摘Tunneling is studied in two main single-photon avalanche diode （SPAD） topologies, which are r^-tub guard ring （NTGR） and p-tub guard ring （PTGR）. Device sinmlation, I - V measurements, and dark count calculations and measurements demonstrate that tunneling is the main source of noise in NTGR, but it is less dominant in PTGR SPADs. All structures are characterized with respect to dark noise, photon detection probability, tinting jitter, afterpulsing probability, and breakdown voltage. Noise performmme is disturbed because of tunneling, whereas jitter performance is disturbed because of the short diffusion time of photo-generated minority carriers in NTGR SPADs. The maximum photon detection probability is enhanced because of an improvement in absorption thickness.
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 National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61571235, 61871231)the Key Research&Development Plan of Jiangsu Province+2 种基金China(No. BE2019741)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu ProvinceChina (No. BK20181390)。
文摘A compact pixel for single-photon detection in the analog domain is presented. The pixel integrates a single-photon avalanche diode(SPAD), a passive quenching & active recharging circuit(PQARC), and an analog counter for fast and accurate sensing and counting of photons. Fabricated in a standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology, the simulated and experimental results reveal that the dead time of the PQARC is about 8 ns and the maximum photon-counting rate can reach 125 Mcps(counting per second). The analog counter can achieve an 8-bit counting range with a voltage step of 6.9 mV. The differential nonlinearity(DNL) and integral nonlinearity(INL) of the analog counter are within the ± 0.6 and ± 1.2 LSB, respectively, indicating high linearity of photon counting. Due to its simple circuit structure and compact layout configuration, the total area occupation of the presented pixel is about 1500 μm^(2), leading to a high fill factor of 9.2%. The presented in-pixel front-end circuit is very suitable for the high-density array integration of SPAD sensors.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(61233010,61274043)Hunan Provincial Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(2015JJ1014)
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(61774129,61704145,61525305,61827812)Hunan Provincial Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(2015JJ1014)
