Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of high-energy carrier transport in single photon avalanche diodes with multiplication layers made of InP, InAlAs, and GaAs

Dolgos, Denis; Meier, Hektor; Schenk, Andreas; Witzigmann, Bernd

doi:10.1063/1.4717729

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The balance between these two effects governs the steepness of the breakdown probability for changing multiplication widths. Our FBMC simulations of high-energy charge dynamics of the charge multiplication process reveal the dominance of positive feedback over the reduction of effective gain material width for all three investigated materials [10].…”

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confidence: 82%

Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of single photon avalanche diodes

Dolgos¹,

Meier²,

Schenk³

et al. 2013

2013 IEEE Photonics Conference

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Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) enable a variety of innovative applications in the fields of biology, medicine, and physics. The propagation of single photons with optical fibers requires the usage of telecommunication wavelengths in the near infrared (NIR) spectral range. NIR SPADs, which can be employed for this application, consist of an absorber layer (In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As) and a multiplication layer (InP or In 0.52 Al 0.48 As). The product of the quantum efficiency η q , the probability that the photoexcited carrier survives into the multiplier P c , and the breakdown probability P b that the carrier activates a self-sustaining avalanche designate the photon detection efficiency [1] PDE = η q P c P b . The breakdown probability contributes primarily to the electric field dependence of the PDE and increases with the electric field. Therefore, a higher electric field enhances the photon detection efficiency. However, band-to-band or trap-assisted tunneling in the multiplication layer initiate dark counts and degrade the performance of SPAD devices at higher electric fields. Hence, to obtain a higher photon detection efficiency for a given increase of the electric field and tunneling rate, a steep rise of the breakdown probability with applied bias is favorable. The SPAD's timing jitter arises from various sources. The avalanche build-up time is the main contribution to the timing jitter [1].The full-band Monte Carlo (FBMC) method is considered to be the most accurate device simulation method within the physics of semiclassical charge transport. The FBMC approach for the solution of the Boltzmann transport equation serves as benchmark for approximate methods. FBMC simulations are computationally heavy. This burden forced previous numerical investigations on the SPAD * denis.dolgos@synopsys.com breakdown characteristics to use simplified charge transport models [2-6]. However, nowadays standard computer clusters together with computationally efficient approaches [7] enable the gathering of sufficient statistics with FBMC simulations. The computation of breakdown probabilities and timing jitter has become feasible. The details of our ensemble full-band Monte Carlo simulator CarloS and the approximations of the scattering model have been presented in Refs. [8,9].We simulate PIN diode structures with intrinsic region widths between 55 nm and 500 nm (made of InP, In 0.52 Al 0.48 As, and GaAs) operated in the Geigermode with a temperature of T = 300 K [6]. Single carriers are injected with an energy of 10 meV at time t = 0 ps into the PIN diode. Breakdown occurs when the total number of carriers exceeds 30 within the simulation domain. The simulation stops when a breakdown has not taken place within 500 ps. We have repeated the simulations 2500 times per reverse bias point. Figure 1 presents the breakdown probability versus the excess bias V ex = V r − V b for the different gain materials and multiplication layer widths. We define the breakdown voltage V b as P b (V b ) = 10 −3 . Three regions characterize the d...

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confidence: 82%

Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of single photon avalanche diodes

Dolgos¹,

Meier²,

Schenk³

et al. 2013

2013 IEEE Photonics Conference

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“…Since the seminal work from Spinelli [1] clearly showing that Monte Carlo simulations predictions can compare favourably with experimental measurements of PDE and timing resolution, the Monte Carlo method can be considered to be a useful one for the design of improved structures. It has been recently applied to optimize the PDE and Jitter of Silicon [3] and InGaAs SPADs [4], [5]. In this abstract we report a rigorous comparison between Monte Carlo predictions and measurements of PDE and Jitter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Single Photon Avalanche Diode with Monte Carlo Simulations: PDE, Jitter and Quench Probability

Rideau

Oussaiti

Grebot

et al. 2021

2021 International Conference on Simulation of Semiconductor Processes and Devices (SISPAD)

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“…A Simple Monte Carlo (SMC) model for the impact ionization process, first reported in 1999 [19], has recently been made available [20], with parameter files published for a range of avalanche materials including Si [21]. The SMC model is far less computationally intensive compared to Analytical and Full Band Monte Carlo models [22], [23], whilst incorporating sufficient impact ionization statistics (including dead space effects) to simulate a wide range of APD/SPAD designs, e.g., with thin avalanche regions and/or rapidly varying electric field profiles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Temperature-Dependent Avalanche Characteristics of InP

Petticrew

Dimler

Tan

et al. 2020

J. Lightwave Technol.

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Avalanche photodiodes (APDs), and single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), with InP avalanche regions and In-GaAs absorption regions, are used for detecting weak infrared light at ∼1.55 µm wavelength. These devices are often cooled to below room temperature during operation yet both validated simulation models and impact ionization coefficients that accurately describe the avalanche characteristics of InP are lacking in the temperature range of interest (200 K to room temperature). In this article we present an accessible, validated temperature dependent simulation model for InP APDs/SPADs. The model is capable of simulating avalanche gain, excess noise, breakdown voltage, and impulse current at 150-300 K. Temperature dependent ionization coefficients in InP, which may be used with other APD/SPAD simulation models, are also presented. The data reported in this article is available from the ORDA digital repository

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Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of high-energy carrier transport in single photon avalanche diodes with multiplication layers made of InP, InAlAs, and GaAs

Cited by 11 publications

References 37 publications

Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of single photon avalanche diodes

Full-band Monte Carlo simulation of single photon avalanche diodes

Single Photon Avalanche Diode with Monte Carlo Simulations: PDE, Jitter and Quench Probability

Modeling Temperature-Dependent Avalanche Characteristics of InP

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