Timing jitter as a key performance of single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detectors plays a significant role in determining the fast temporal response behavior of the SPAD device. Nevertheless, few analytic models are developed to directly calculate the characteristic of timing jitter for its modeling difficulty. In this paper, we propose a simple analytic modeling method, which can predict the temporal response of SPADs, without using time-consuming Monte Carlo simulation. Model investigation incorporates avalanche current, avalanche buildup time, and jitter tail under different conditions. Furthermore, the key model parameters provided by Geiger mode technology computer-aided design simulation allow an accurate prediction on timing jitter. Analytical results indicate that for an SPAD device structure with a shallow P+/N-well junction in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology, the Gaussian peak response with about 110-ps full-width at half-maximum and the exponential jitter tail are in good agreement with the measured data, validating the accuracy, and feasibility of this modeling method. INDEX TERMS Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), timing jitter, analytic model, jitter tail.
As one of the most important semiconductor materials, silicon (Si) is widely used in optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and photodetectors, and so on. Due to the refractive index difference between silicon and air, a large amount of incident light is reflected back into the air on the silicon surface. In order to suppress the loss caused by this reflection, a variety of silicon nanostructures with strong trapping effect have been developed. Most of the dry-etching schemes have the problems of high cost and complex preparation, while the silicon nanowire arrays prepared by the wet-etching schemes have the problems of low controllability of some parameters such as the spacing between each nanowires, and the small effective area of heterojunction, and so on. The method by using polystyrene microsphere as the mask can combine the advantages of dry-etching and wetetching methods, and it is easy to obtain periodic silicon nanowires (pillars) array. In this paper, firstly we summarize the properties and preparation methods for silicon nanowires structure, the strategies to effectively improve the performance of silicon nanowires (pillars) array photodetectors, and then to analyze the existing problems. Further, the latest development of silicon nanowires (pillars) array photodetector is discussed, and then the structure, morphology of photosensitive layer and methods to improve the performance parameters of silicon nanowires (pillars) array photodetector are analyzed. Among them, the ultraviolet light sensitive silicon based photodetector and its method to show tunable and selective resonance absorption through leaky mode resonance, the silicon nanowires array photodetector modified with metal nanoparticles and the method of improving performance through surface plasmon effect and plasmon hot electrons, are focused. Heterojunction photodetectors composed of various low dimensional materials and silicon nanowires (pillars) array, and methods to improve the collection efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers through the "core/shell" structure, methods to expand the detection band range of silicon-based photodetectors by integrating down-conversion lightemitting materials and silicon nanowires (pillars) array, flexible silicon nanowires array photodetectors and their various preparation methods, are all introduced. Then, the main problem that a large number of defect states will be generated on the silicon nanostructure surface during the MACE process is briefly introduced, and several possible solutions for passivation are also presented. Finally, the future development of silicon nanowires (pillars) array photodetectors is prospected.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.