Chapter 7: Photodetectors

NPérez
SM Olaizola
2004
Outline

Introduction

Photomultipliers

Photodiodes

Parameters

Characteristics: Quantum efficiency, Responsivity, Response speed,
Temperature effects, Noise.

Photodiode structures:

PIN Photodiode

Schottky photodiode

Avalanche photodiode

Applications:

Optical fiber communications systems

Optical disks

Optocouplers

Bar-code readers

CCD devices

CMOS fundamentals

CCD basics and structure

CCD: Charge transfer
Introduction

Photodetectors are used in decoding the information
that a light beam contains
Laser beam from a telecommunications link
Light from a star
…

High performance requirements:

High response or sensitivity in the wavelength range of the
emitter

Fast response speed

Insensitivity to temperature changes

Compatible with different dimensions of optical fibers

Low cost

Long operating life
Introduction

Photomultipliers: photocathode + electron multiplier

High gain and low noise

Big sizes and they need very high voltages to work

Pyroelectric detectors: the detector absorbs photons, its

temperature changes the dielectric constant of the material
changes measured as a capacitance change

Flat response over the range of measurement

Very slow

Phototransistors

Photodiodes: conversion of light in electron-hole pairs.

Small size, high sensitivity and small response time.
Photomultipliers

Useful in detection of weak signals

D1
D3 Anode
Light
input e-

D2 D4 I meter

Photocathode Electric current output

Photocathode + electron multiplier packaged in a vacuum tube

Photocathode exposed to a photon flux generates electrons
that are amplified inside the tube
Photomultipliers

Advantages of photomultipliers:

Very high internal multiplication factors (> 106)

Little additional noise is introduced

Bandwidths of the order of 1 Gigahertz (very good for very
fast measurements)

Main disadvantages:

Low quantum efficiency (< 0.1)

Large size

Limited life

Mechanical fragility

Need for stable high voltage supplies, around 1kV
Photodiodes

Semiconductor is illuminated by light with hν > Eg light is absorbed
in the semiconductor e- - h+ pairs are created

Electric field applied induced carriers take part in electric
conduction photoconduction.

Normal operation: reverse biased intrinsic region fully depleted.

Designed so that most of the e- - h+ pairs are created in the intrinsic region

Electric field in the intrinsic region separates an accelerates carriers

Current flow can be observed in the external circuit.
Photodiodes: Parameters

Diffusion length
1
Ln , p = (Dn , p ⋅ τ n , p ) 2

τn, τp : electrons, holes lifetimes

Dn, Dp: electrons, holes diffusion
constant

Power absorption inside the

semiconductor
(
P ( x ) = Po 1 − e −α s ( λ )⋅ x )

Po is the incident optical power

αs is the absorption coefficient
Photodiodes: Parameters

Cut-off wavelength h⋅c 1.24

λc = =
Eg E g (eV )

Total photocurrent
q
Ip =
hν
( )
Po 1 − e −α s ⋅W ⋅ (1 − R f )

W depletion region width

Rf reflectivity
q ⋅η
Also:
Ip = Po


hν

η: quantum efficiency (number of e- - h+ pairs created per incident photon)

Photodiodes: Quantum efficiency and
Responsivity

Quantum efficiency: number

of e- - h+ pairs created for each
incident photon of energy hν.
Ip
q
η=
Po
hν

Responsivity: is the measure of
the sensitivity of the photodiode

Ip η
ℜ= = ⋅ λ ( µm )
Po 1.24
Photodiodes: Responsivity

Responsivity

In order to increase ℜ :

A material very absorbing for the incident λ

Depletion region with high, extended electric field

Junction close to the surface

Antireflection layer at the surface

Spectral response ( ℜ vs. λ)
Photodiodes: Response speed

Response speed. Limited by two factors:

Charge collection time or transit time. Two components:

Fast: carriers moving by drift in the depletion region

Slow: Carriers diffusing until they reach the depletion region

RC time constant, coming from:

Capacity of the junction (Cj)

Diode inner resistance (Rd) and load resistance (RL)

Response time.

τ 2 = τ RC
2 2
+ τ trans 2
+ τ diff

Cut-off frequency

1
f 3dB =
2πτ
Photodiodes: Temperature effects

Temperature effects: ↑T ⇒ Two different effects:

Shift in the quantum efficiency

Exponential increase of the dark current

Photodiodes: Noise

Noise: Rs

Equivalent
Ip: photocurrent
RL circuit for a
Il: leakage current Rd Vo
Cj photodiode
IN: noise equivalent current Ip Il IN

Shot noise: an average photodetector current, I, always shows a

random fluctuation about this mean value: shot noise

From the photocurrent I s , photo = 2qI p B

From the dark current (bulk and surface) I s ,surface = 2qI L B I s ,dark = 2qI D B

Total shot noise

I s2 = I s2, photo + I s2,dark + I s2, surface

Photodiodes: Noise

Johnson noise: due to random movement of free electrons inside a
conductive media
4 KT ⋅ BW 1 1 1
IT = = +
R R Rd R L

2 2 2

Total noise equivalent current: I N = I S + I T

Noise Equivalent Power (NEP): minimum detectable power of the

photodiode
IN
NEP = (W)
ℜ

BER
PIN Photodiode

Reach-through structure

ν layer: 103 < n- < 106

π layer: 103 < p- <106

Basic operation
(reverse biased)
Schottky Photodiode

Basic structure

• Mechanisms responsible of the photocurrent in a Schottky photodiode

band to band generation (hν > Eg) electron photoemission (hν > qФb)
Heterojunction Photodiode

GaInAs/InP photodiode. Front entry and substrate entry

Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

APDs are photodiodes that internally

multiply the photocurrent

Diode polarize above its breakdown

voltage

Photogenerated carriers traverse a region

with a very high electric field ⇒ e- or h+ can
gain enough energy ⇒ ionize bond
electrons in the valence band (colliding) ⇒
impact ionization.

Newly created carriers are also

accelerated by the high electric field ⇒
gaining enough energy to cause further
impact ionization: avalanche effect
Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

Multiplication factor (gain) for the IM

carriers generated in the photodiode: M =
Ip
Photodiodes Applications:
Optical fiber communications systems

LEDs and laser diodes emit light modulated with a signal and the
resultant optical signal is received with photodiodes

Optical fiber communication systems can be divided between

digital and analog systems from the modulation point of view.

Most long-haul and large capacity optical communication systems

are digital systems, and the analog systems are sometimes used
for transmitting information over a short distance.
Photodiodes Applications:
Optical fiber communications systems

Analog system
(intensity modulation)

Digital system

REPEATER

Signal electrically
Photodiode reformed Laser
and amplified

Optical signal Electrical Electrical Optical signal

(WEAK) signal signal
Photodiodes Applications:
Optical disks

780 nm light collimated and

focused to a 1 µm ∅ of the
disk.

Light reflected: pit (bump) ⇒
destructive interference
Photodiodes Applications:
Optocouplers and bar-code readers

Optocouplers

Connection of two circuits without an electric contact.

Formed by a photoemissor and a photodetector

Bar-code readers

Decode the information through the digitalization coming from a light
source reflected on the code

Bar code illuminated ⇒ dark bars absorb light and the spaces reflect
back to the scanner ⇒ transforms the fluctuations of light into electric
pulses

The decoder converts the electric pulses into a binary code and
transmits the decoded information to a terminal
Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs)
MOS Fundamentals

MOS technology based on a three-layer structure: Metal-Insulator

(Oxide)-Semiconductor

Energy band diagram of an ideal MIS device under equilibrium (V=0)
[(a) n-type sc, (b) p-type sc]:

φm: metal work function; φB: potential barrier metal-insulator; χ: semiconductor electron
affinity; χi: insulator electron affinity: ψB: potential difference between EF and Ei
CCDs: MOS Fundamentals

Voltage applied to the metal
(the “gate”): the Fermi level of
the metal and the shape of the
sc energy bands change.

a) accumulation; b) depletion;
c) inversion.

• When light impinges onto the metal

surface, e--+ pairs are created in the
semiconductor
• p-type device. Electric field in the
depletion region ⇒ pushes created h+
away from the o-sc interface ⇒ e- get
trapped in the (potential) well under the
gate
•The developed charge is proportional to
the intensity of the incident light
CCDs: Basic and structure

Arrays of detectors are used
to detect an entire image

CCD: array of MOS
capacitors

BCCD (Bulk CCD)

SCCD (Surface CCD)

SCCD operation:
confinement and transfer of
charge

Confinement in depth: by
the potential well under
the gate

Lateral confinement:
VG1 > VG2 = VG3
CCDs: Basic and structure

A CCD can be operated only under conditions where charge

under a potential well never spills into adjacent wells

Maximum charge that can be contained in a charge packet:

Q N , max = −C o (VG 2 − VG1 )

For typical values of xo (oxide thickness) = 0.1 µ and VG 2 − VG1 = 5V, we get
QN, max = -1.7 · 10-7 C/cm2 = 1.06· 1012 electrons/cm2 in the inversion layer.
For gate area of 10 µm x 50 µm, this gives: QN, max = 5.3 · 106 electrons in the
charge packet. (Typical values: in the range of 1 to 5 ·106 electrons)
CCDs: Charge transfer

The charges produced at each
capacitor have to be
transferred to an electronic
storage or memory

Cross section of a three phase
CCD

We only need three gate
voltages (clock voltages) to
supply the device (Fig. c)).

They have equal amplitudes,
but they are shifted in time
with respect to each other

This type of waveform is
called a push clock.
References
[1] Optical Fiber Sensors: Principles and Components. Edited by John Dakin and Brian
Culshaw. Volume one. Artech House

[2] Semiconductor Devices. Physics and Technology. S. M. SZE. Wiley International Edition

[3] Optoelectronics. An introduction to materials and devices. J. Singh. McGraw Hill

International.

[4] Physics of semiconductor devices. S. M. Sze. 2nd edition. Wiley International Edition

[5] Modular series on solid state devices. Advanced MOS devices. D. K. Schroder. Addison-
Wesley Publishing

[6] Apuntes de la asignatura: “Dispositivos optoelectrónicos”. Pedro Castillo Romón. E. T. S. I.

Telecomunicación. Universidad de Valladolid

[7] Optical Fiber Communications. G. Keiser. 3rd Edition. Mc Graw Hill International Editions.

[8] Optical Communication Systems. J. Gowar. 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall International.

[9] www.centrovision.com/tech2.htm