A Backside-Illuminated Charge-Focusing Silicon SPAD With Enhanced Near-Infrared Sensitivity

Sieleghem, Edward Van; Karve, Gauri; Munck, Koen De; Vinci, Andréa; Cavaco, Celso; Süss, Andreas; Hoof, Chris Van; Lee, Jiwon

doi:10.1109/ted.2022.3143487

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The derivation assumes that the highly doped cathode is much smaller than the other device dimensions and that it forms an abrupt transition into the intrinsic layer. Based on these assumptions, the electric field distribution in the p-epi layer is approximately [15]…”

Section: Apd Structure and Tcad Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A smaller cathode radius leads to a sharper field peak. Accordingly, the breakdown and operating voltages decrease by reducing the cathode radius [15], [16].…”

Section: Apd Structure and Tcad Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Refs. [14] and [15] introduced an electric fieldline crowding based single-photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD) fabricated in a CMOS process. They had to customize, i. e. to modify, the fabrication process to use a shallow ntype implant at the silicon surface between cathode and anode to redistribute the electric field just below the silicon/silicon dioxide interface at the surface of the device.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CMOS Integrated 32 A/W and 1.6 GHz Avalanche Photodiode Based on Electric Field-Line Crowding

Poushi

Goll

Schneider-Hornstein

et al. 2022

IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett.

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This paper presents a new Si CMOS linear-mode avalanche photodiode (APD) based on an electric field distribution formed by field-line crowding. In this structure, a spherical avalanching electric field is enforced by field-line crowding due to the curvature of the half-sphere cathode (n-well). The electric field extends radially and, therefore, the entire lowdoped epitaxial layer serves as charge collection zone. This APD can provide high responsivity and bandwidth due to its thick absorption zone and drift-based carrier transport. Measurements using a 675 nm laser source at 200 nW optical power show a maximum bandwidth of 1.6 GHz while the responsivity is 32 A/W. In addition, a maximum responsivity of 3.05×10 3 A/W at 5 nW optical power is achieved. Due to the high avalanche gain, large bandwidth, and CMOS compatibility without any process modification, this APD is a promising optical detector for many applications.Index Terms-Avalanche photodiode (APD), field-line crowding, CMOS integrated photodetector, spherical avalanching field.

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Section: Apd Structure and Tcad Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A smaller cathode radius leads to a sharper field peak. Accordingly, the breakdown and operating voltages decrease by reducing the cathode radius [15], [16].…”

Section: Apd Structure and Tcad Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

CMOS Integrated 32 A/W and 1.6 GHz Avalanche Photodiode Based on Electric Field-Line Crowding

Poushi

Goll

Schneider-Hornstein

et al. 2022

IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett.

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“…Therefore, previous research works on the structure of Si-SPADs have been performed in several ways. Van Sieleghem et al proposed that a device improved for dark count rate (DCR) and photon detection efficiency (PDE) was presented by the electric field engineering inside the devices 5 . Webster et al reported that deeper multiplication junction using deep n-well (DNW) improves DCR and PDE performance 6,7 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design risk for fabrication stability of silicon single-photon avalanche diodes with deep N-well implantation

Lee

Shin²,

Choi³

et al. 2023

Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXXI

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Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are high-performance light-sensitive sensors operating in low-light condition. Si-SPADs manufactured through standard CMOS fabrication process have advantages in terms of manufacturing cost, low power consumption, device shrinkage, and process stability compared to SPADs on custom fabrication. A deeper multiplication using deep n-well (DNW) improves key performances of Si-SPAD such as dark count rate (DCR) and photon detection efficiency (PDE). Here, the guard ring (GR) must be included for deep junction SPAD because light detection efficiency is lowered due to premature edge breakdown (PEB) generated by strong electric field at the edge. PEB affects not only the characteristics but also the manufacturing uniformity. Therefore, the DNW should be carefully designed to show better performance and stability for Si-SPADs. In this paper, the effects of electrical characteristics such as current-voltage (I-V) curve, DCR, off leakage, and breakdown voltage, and process stability on DNW implanted SPAD with GR variation are analyzed using actual fabricated SPAD measurement data and the calibrated technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulated results. When the deep multiplication junction is formed using the higher ion implantation energy, the penetration effect and the process instability can be generated and it can also weaken the GR effect, which prevents PEB caused by having a stronger electric field than the multiplication zone. In addition, it is verified to prevent the risk of designing a Si-SPAD and die-to-die variation due to DNW implantation. Based on the results, deep junction design scheme for high resolution and mass production can be suggested.

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“…With a conventional design built around a planar p-n junction, a limit is reached as the effective active area decreases with increased depletion depth [6]. To overcome this limitation without sacrificing dynamic range, several attempts with a novel pixel geometry have been made [7,8]. We examine prototypes of the tip avalanche photo-diode (TAPD) SiPM presented in [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation Hardness of a Wide Spectral Range SiPM with Quasi-Spherical Junction

Römer¹,

Garutti²,

Schmailzl³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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New pixel geometries are on the rise to achieve high sensitivity in near-infrared wavelengths with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). We test prototypes of the tip avalanche photo-diodes, which feature a quasi-spherical p-n junction and a high photodetection efficiency over a wide spectral range, and analyze the performance after neutron irradiation. The observed increase in dark count rate is significantly smaller than for a SiPM with a conventional design, indicating a good radiation hardness of the pixel geometry.

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A Backside-Illuminated Charge-Focusing Silicon SPAD With Enhanced Near-Infrared Sensitivity

Cited by 14 publications

References 23 publications

CMOS Integrated 32 A/W and 1.6 GHz Avalanche Photodiode Based on Electric Field-Line Crowding

CMOS Integrated 32 A/W and 1.6 GHz Avalanche Photodiode Based on Electric Field-Line Crowding

Design risk for fabrication stability of silicon single-photon avalanche diodes with deep N-well implantation

Radiation Hardness of a Wide Spectral Range SiPM with Quasi-Spherical Junction

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