InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes show low dark counts and require moderate cooling

Tosi, Alberto; Mora, Alberto Dalla; Zappa, Franco; Cova, S.; Itzler, Mark A.; Jiang, Xudong

doi:10.1117/12.808262

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…10 Typically, SPADs have a relatively large trap-assisted tunnelling contribution; hence, it is often sufficient to only cool the devices to rather moderate temperatures, to reduce the thermal contribution well below the former effect. However, recent improvements to InGaAs material quality and careful consideration of the SPAD device structure 11 have effectively reduced the contribution of the dark count generation through the tunnelling process. This has also been applied to NFAD design 9 and subsequent work has focused on better understanding and improving the avalanche quenching in these devices.…”

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confidence: 99%

Free-running InGaAs single photon detector with 1 dark count per second at 10% efficiency

et al. 2014

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We present a free-running single photon detector for telecom wavelengths based on a negative feedback avalanche photodiode (NFAD). A dark count rate as low as 1 cps was obtained at a detection efficiency of 10%, with an afterpulse probability of 2.2% for 20 μs of deadtime. This was achieved by using an active hold-off circuit and cooling the NFAD with a free-piston stirling cooler down to temperatures of −110 °C. We integrated two detectors into a practical, 625 MHz clocked quantum key distribution system. Stable, real-time key distribution in the presence of 30 dB channel loss was possible, yielding a secret key rate of 350 bps

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confidence: 99%

Free-running InGaAs single photon detector with 1 dark count per second at 10% efficiency

et al. 2014

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“…However, recent improvements to InGaAs material quality and tuning of the electric field 21 , have effectively reduced the contribution of the dark count generation through the tunneling process. The NFAD devices that we have used belong to this new generation of single-photon detectors and offer the possibility to lower temperatures as an effective mean to reduce DCR.…”

Section: Photon Detection Efficiency (Pde) and Dark Count Rate (Dcr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Low noise InGaAs/InP single-photon negative feedback avalanche diodes: characterization and applications

Boso¹,

Korzh²,

Lunghi³

et al. 2015

SPIE Proceedings

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In recent years, many applications have been proposed that require detection of light signals in the near-infrared range with single-photon sensitivity and time resolution down to few hundreds of picoseconds. InGaAs/InP singlephoton avalanche diodes (SPADs) are a viable choice for these tasks thanks to their compactness and ease-of-use. Unfortunately, their performance is traditionally limited by high dark count rates (DCRs) and afterpulsing effects. However, a recent demonstration of negative feedback avalanche diodes (NFADs), operating in the free-running regime, achieved a DCR down to 1 cps at 10 % photon detection efficiency (PDE) at telecom wavelengths.Here we present our recent results on the characterization of NFAD detectors for temperatures down to approximately 150 K. A FPGA controlled test-bench facilitates the acquisition of all the parameters of interest like PDE, DCR, afterpulsing probability etc.We also demonstrate the performance of the detector in different applications: In particular, with low-temperature NFADs, we achieved high secret key rates with quantum key distribution over fiber links between 100-300 km. But low noise InGaAs/InP SPADs will certainly find applications in yet unexplored fields like photodynamic therapy, near infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy and many more. For example with a large area detector, we made timeresolved measurements of singlet-oxygen luminescence from a standard Rose Bengal dye in aqueous solution.

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“…We adopted a separate absorption, grading, charge, and multiplication (SAGCM) structure that is widely used for low dark current, high detection efficiency and high gain characteristics. [7][8][9] In SAGCM structure, the multiplication layer thickness is the most significant factor for the higher gain and bandwidth characteristics.…”

Section: Device Structure Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

InGaAs/InP Avalanche Photodiode for Single Photon Detection with Zinc Diffusion Process Using Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Lee¹,

Lee²,

Kim³

et al. 2016

j nanosci nanotechnol

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In this paper, we describe a design, simulation, and fabrication of an InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD), which requires a much higher gain, compared to APD's for conventional optical communications. To achieve a higher gain, an efficient multiplication width control is essential because it significantly affects the overall performance including not only gain but also noise characteristics. Normally, the multiplication layer width is controlled by the Zinc diffusion process. For the reliable and controllable diffusion process, we used metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The controllability of the proposed diffusion process is proved by the diffusion depth measurement of the fabricated devices which show the proportional dependence on the square root of the diffusion time. As a result, we successfully implemented the SPAD that exhibits a high gain enough to detect single photons and a very low dark current level of about 0.1 nA with 0.95 breakdown voltage. The single photon detection efficiency of 15% was measured at the 100 kHz gate pulse rate and the temperature of 230 K.

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InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes show low dark counts and require moderate cooling

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Free-running InGaAs single photon detector with 1 dark count per second at 10% efficiency

Free-running InGaAs single photon detector with 1 dark count per second at 10% efficiency

Low noise InGaAs/InP single-photon negative feedback avalanche diodes: characterization and applications

InGaAs/InP Avalanche Photodiode for Single Photon Detection with Zinc Diffusion Process Using Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

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