Unit6

Photodetectors

OpticalReceivers
y Opticalreceiversconvertopticalsignal(light)to

electricalsignal(current/voltage).HencereferredO/E Converter. Converter

y Photodetectoristhefundamentalelementofoptical p 

receiver,followedbyamplifiersandsignalconditioning circuitry.
y Thereareseveralphotodetectortypes:
y Photodiodes, ,Phototransistors, ,Photonmultipliers, p ,Photo

resistorsetc.
5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 2

PhotodetectorRequirements
y Highsensitivity(responsivity)atthedesiredwavelengthandlow

responsivityelsewhere highwavelengthselectivity.
transmitter.

y Sensitivity hastob bematched S i i i h h dtothe h emission i i spectraof fthe h optical i l

y Linearity y(Linearrelationship pbetweentheintensity yandtheelectricalsignal). g y Highquantumefficiency/highspectralsensitivity y Stabilityofperformance(Insensitivetotemperaturevariations). y Fastresponsetime. y SufficientBWtohandledesireddatarate. y Compatiblephysicaldimensions, dimensions Lownoiseandreasonablecost cost,and

Longoperatinglife

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

Ph t di d Photodiodes
y Duetoaboverequirements,only photodiodes areusedasphotodetectors

inopticalcommunicationsystems. s stems

y PositiveIntrinsicNegative g (PIN)Photodiode
y Nointernalgain

y AvalanchePhotoDiode(APD)
y AninternalgainofMduetoselfmultiplication

y Photodiodesaresufficientlyreversebiased duringnormaloperation

nocurrentflow,theintrinsicregionisfullydepletedofcarriers

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

Th PINPhoto Ph t Detector D t t The

y ThePINphotodiodeisstructuredwithp andnregionsseparatedbya

lightlyndopedintrinsic(i)region(Fig. (Fig 61). 1) 

Fig 61:pin photodiodecircuit Fig.

5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 5

ThePINPhotoDetector
y Incidentphotonwithenergy> bandgapenergyofthephotodiodewill

generatefreeelectronholepairs, pairs known kno nasphotocarriers. (Fig. (Fig 62). 2)

Fig 62:pin energybanddiagram Fig.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

h PINPhoto h Detector The

y Thehighelectricfieldpresentinthedepletionregioncausesthecarriersto

separateandbecollectedacrossthereversebiasedjunction.
y This Thi gives i rise i toaphoto h current flow fl i inanexternal lcircuit, i i with i hone

electronflowingforeverycarrierpairgenerated.
y Asthechargecarriersflowthroughthematerial,someelectronholepairs

willrecombineanddisappear.
y Ontheaverage,thechargecarriersmoveadiffusionlength Ln or Lp for

electronsandholes,respectively.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

ThePINPhotoDetector
y Thetimeittakesforanelectronorholetorecombineisknownasthe

carrier and isrepresented i lifetime lif ti d i t dby b Wn and dWp,respectively. ti l 

y Thelifetimesandthediffusionlengthsarerelatedby
/ / Ln = (DnWn)1/2 and d Lp = (DpWp)1/2 whereDn andDp aretheelectronandholediffusioncoefficients, expressedinunitsofcm2/sec.

y Opticalradiationisabsorbedinthesemiconductormaterialaccording

totheexponentiallaw P(x)=Po[1 exp(Ds(O)x)] (61)

y Here,Ds(O)istheabsorptioncoefficient atwavelengthO,Po isthe

incidentopticalpowerlevel level,andP(x) istheopticalpowerabsorbedina distance x.

RKKEC831EC831 8

5/19/2012

ThePINPhotoDetector
y ThecutoffOc isdeterminedbythebandgapenergyEg ofthematerial:

Oc(Pm)=hc/Eg =12.4/ 12 4/Eg(eV)

(62)

y Thecutoffwavelengthisabout1.06mforSiand1.6mforGe.

E Example l 61:
AphotodiodeconstructedofGaAshasabandgapenergyof1.43eVat 300oK. K y FromEq.(62),thelongwavelengthcutoffis Oc =hc/Eg (6.625x1034J.s)(3x108m/s) = =869nm. (1.43eV)(1.6x1019J/eV)
y ThisGaAsphotodiodewillnotoperateforphotonsofO >869nm.
5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 9

ThePINPhotoDetector
y Forlongerwavelengths,thephotonenergyisnotsufficienttoexciteanelectron

fromthevalencetotheconductionband.

y At wavelength values A the h lower l l hend, d the h photo h responsecutsoff ffdue d toverylarge l l 

ofDs.Thephotonsareabsorbedveryclosetothephotodetectorsurface,the recombinationtimeofthegeneratedelectronholepairsisveryshort. distancew is

y Ifthedepletionregionhasawidthw,thenthetotalpowerabsorbedinthe

P(w) = Po[1 exp(Dsw)]

(63)

y TakeintoaccountthereflectivityRf attheentrancefaceofthephotodiode, photodiode the

primaryphotocurrentIp resultingfromthepowerabsorptionofEq.(63)isgiven by

Ip =(q/hQ)Po[1exp(Dsw)](1Rf )

(64)

wherePo istheopticalpowerincidentonthephotodetector,q istheelectron charge,andhvisthephotonenergy.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

10

ThePINPhotoDetector
y ThequantumefficiencyK isthenumberofthephotocarrierpairs

generatedperincidentphotonofenergyhvandisgivenby numberofelectronholegenerated K = numberofincidentphotons =(Ip/q)/(Po/hv).

(65)

y Here,Ip istheaveragephotocurrentgeneratedbyasteadystateaverage

opticalpowerPo incidentonthephotodetector. detector 

y Toachieveahighquantumefficiency,thedepletionlayermustbethicker. y However, However thethickerthedepletionlayer, layer thelongertimeittakesforthe

photogeneratedcarrierstodriftacrossthereversebiasedjunction.

y Compromisehastobemadebetweenresponsespeedandquantum

efficiency efficiency.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

11

ThePINPhotoDetector
y Example62:

Ina100nspulse,6.0x106 photonsat1300nmfallonan InGaAsphotodetector.Ontheaverage,5.4x106electronhole pairsaregenerated. y The Th quantumefficiency ffi i is i found f dfrom f Eq. E (65) )as numberofehpairsgenerated K = numberofincidentphotons =(5.4x106)/(6x106)=0.9. Thus,thequantumefficiencyat1300nmis90%.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

12

ThePINPhotoDetector
R. y ThisisrelatedtothequantumefficiencyK by R =Ip/Po =Kq/hQ TypicalPINresponsivitiesareshowninFig.63.
y TheperformanceofaphotodiodeisoftencharacterizedbytheResponsivity

(66)

Fig.63:PhotodiodeResponsivities
y Representativevaluesare0.65A/WforSiat900 nmand0.45A/WforGeat1.3m. y ForInGaAs,typicalvaluesare0.9A/Wat1.3mand1.0A/Wat1.55m.
5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 13

ThePINPhotoDetector
Example6.3:
Photonsofenergy1.53x1019Jareincidentonaphotodiodewhichhasa responsivityof0.65A/W. y Iftheopticalpowerlevelis10PW,thenfromEq.(66)thephoto currentis Ip =RPo =(0.65A/W)(10 ( )( PW) )=6.5PA
y Theresponsivityisalinearfunctionoftheopticalpower.ThephotocurrentIp

isdirectlyproportionaltotheopticalpowerPo incidentuponthephoto detector,sothattheresponsivityR isconstantatagivenwavelength.

y Foragivenmaterial,asthewavelengthoftheincidentphotonbecomeslonger,

thephotonenergybecomeslessthanthatrequiredtoexciteanelectronfrom thevalencebandtotheconductionband.
y The Th responsivity i i thus h f falls ll off ffrapidly idl b beyond dthe h cutoff ffwavelength, l h ascanb be

seeninFig.63.
5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 14

Th PINPhoto Ph t Detector D t t  The

y Example64 :
g 63,forthewavelength g range g 1300 3 nm<O <1600nm, , AsshowninFig. thequantumefficiencyforInGaAsisaround90%.Thus,inthis wavelengthrangetheresponsivityis R =Kq/hQ =KqO/hc =(0.90)(1.6x1019C)O(6.625x1034J.s)(3x108m/s) =7.25x105O Forexample,at1300nmwehave R =[7.25x105(A/W)/m](1.30x106m) =0.92 0 92A/W

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

15

ThePINPhotoDetector
y Atwavelengthshigherthan1600nm,thephotonenergyisnotsufficient

to the band t excite it anelectron l t from f th valence l b dto t the th conduction d ti band. b d
y Forexample,In0.53 gyg gapEg =0.73eV,sothatfrom 53Ga0.47 47Ashasanenergy

Eq.(62)thecutoffwavelengthis

Oc =1.24/Eg =1.24/0.73=1.7Pm
y Atwavelengths<1100nm,thephotonsareabsorbedveryclosetothe

photodetectorsurface,wheretherecombinationrateofthegenerated electronholepairsisveryshort. short Theresponsivitythusdecreasesrapidly forsmallerwavelengths.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

16

AvalanchePhotodiodes(APDs)
y APDsinternallymultiplytheprimarysignalphotocurrentinamechanismknown

asimpactionization.
y Thecreatedcarriersareacceleratedbythehighelectricfield,gainingenough

energytocausefurtherimpactionization.Thisphenomenonistheavalanche effect.
y Acommonlyusedstructureforachievingcarriermultiplicationwithverylittle

excessnoiseisthereachthroughconstructionshowninFig.64.

y Figure64.Reachthroughavalanchephotodiodestructure
5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 17

AvalanchePhotodiodes(APDs)
y Innormalusage,theRAPDisoperatedinthefullydepletedmode.Lightenters

thedevicethroughthep+ regionandisabsorbedintheS material,whichactsas the  th collection ll ti region i for f the th photo h t generated t dcarriers. i
y ThephotogeneratedelectronsdriftthroughtheS regioninthepn+ junction,

whereahighelectricfieldexists.
y Itisinthishighfieldregionthatcarriermultiplicationtakesplace. y ThemultiplicationM forallcarriersgeneratedinthephotodiodeisdefinedby

M =IM /Ip (67) whereIM istheaveragevalueofthetotalmultipliedoutputcurrentandIp isthe primaryunmultipliedphotocurrentdefinedinEq.(64).

y TheperformanceofanAPDischaracterizedbytheresponsivitygivenby

RAPD = (Kq/hQ)M = RoM whereRo istheunity yg gainresponsivity. p y

(68)

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

18

AvalancheMultiplicationNoise
y If mdenotesthestatisticallyvaryingAPDgain,then

(69) wherethesymbols<.>denoteanensembleaverageand<m>=Mistheaverage carriergaindefinedinEq.(67).

y Sincethenoisecreatedbytheavalancheprocessdependsonthemeansquare

m2>m2 =M2

gain<m2>,thenoiseinanAPDcanberelativelyhigh.
y Ithasbeenfoundthat,<m2>canbeapproximatedby

(610) wheretheexponentx variesbetween0and1.0dependingonthephotodiode materialandstructure.

y TheratiooftheactualnoisegeneratedinanAPDtothenoisethatwouldexistif

m2=M2+x

allcarrierpairsweremultipliedbyM iscalledtheexcessnoisefactor F andis definedby F =m2/m2 =m2/M2 (611) )

5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831 19

A l h Multiplication M lti li ti Noise N i  Avalanche

y Thisexcessnoisefactorisameasureoftheincreaseindetectornoise

resultingfromtherandomnessofthemultiplicationprocess.
y Fromtheempiricalrelationshipforthemeansquaregaingivenby

Eq.(610),theexcessnoisefactorcanbeapproximatedby F =Mx (612)

y Theparameterx takesonvaluesof0.3forSi,0.7forInGaAs,and1.0

forGeavalanchephotodiodes.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

20

PhotoDetectorNoise
y ThepowerSNRattheoutputofanopticalreceiveris

SNR

Signal power from photocurrent Detector Noise + Amplifier Noise

(6 ( 13) )

y To achieve a high SNR, SNR

1.PDmusthaveahighK togeneratealargesignalpower. 2.PDandamplifiernoisesshouldbekeptaslowas p possible.

y Thesensitivityofaphotodiodeisdescribableintermsoftheminimum

detectableopticalpower.Thisistheopticalpowernecessarytoproducea photo h currentof fthe h samemagnitude d asthe h total lrmsnoisecurrent,or equivalently,aSNRof1.

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

21

NoiseSources
y IfamodulatedsignalofopticalpowerP(t)fallsonthedetector,the

primaryphotocurrentiph(t)generatedis

iph(t)=(Kq/hQ)P(t)
y Thep primary ycurrentconsistsofadcvalueIp theaverage g p photo

(614)

currentduetothesignalpower,andasignalcomponentip(t).
y ForPINs,themeansquaresignalcurrent<is2>is

<is2>=V2s,PIN =<ip2(t)>
whereV2 isthevariance.
y ForAPDs,themeansquaresignalcurrent<is2>is

(615a)

<is2>=V2s,APD =<ip2(t)> ) M2
whereM istheaverageavalanchegain.

( 15b) (6 b)

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

22

N i S Noise Sources
(616)

y Forasinusoidallyvaryinginputsignalofmodulationindexm,thesignal

component<ip2(t)>isoftheform

<ip2(t)> (t) =Vp2 =(m2/2) / )Ip2.

y Thequantumorshotnoise followaPoissonprocess.Thequantumnoise

currenthasameansquarevalue

<iQ2> = VQ2 = 2qIpBM2F(M)

(617)

whereF(M)=Mx,0< x < 1.0, 1 0  isanoisefigureassociatedwiththerandom natureoftheavalancheprocess.

y ForPINphotodiodes,M and F(M) areunity. y Themeansquarevalueofthebulkdarkcurrent iDB arisenfromthermally

generatedelectronsand/orholesisgivenby

<iDB2>=VDB2 =2qI IDBM2F(M)

whereID istheprimary(unmultiplied)detectorbulkdarkcurrent.
5/19/2012 RKKEC831EC831

(618) 8)
23

N i S Noise Sources
y The surfacedarkcurrentissimplyreferredtoasleakagecurrent.The

meansquarevalueofthiscurrentisgivenby

<iDS2>=VDS2 =2qILB

(619)

whereIL isthesurfaceleakagecurrent.Thesurfacedarkcurrentisnot affectedbytheavalanchegain.

y The Th d dark kcurrents t and dthe th signal i lcurrent tareuncorrelated, l t d the th mean

squarePDnoisecurrent<iN2>canbewrittenas

<iN2>=VN2 =<iQ2>+<iDB2>+<iDS2> =VQ2+ VDB2+ VDS2 =2q(Ip +ID)M2F(M)B +2qILB

(620)

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

24

N i S Noise Sources
y ThePDloadresistorcontributesameansquarethermal

(Johnson)noisecurrent

<iT2>=VT2 =4kBTB/RL,
wherekB isBoltzmann'sconstantandT istheabsolute temperature.

(621)

y ThisJohnsonnoisecanbereducedbyusingaloadresistorwhich

islargebutstillconsistentwiththereceiverbandwidth requirements. q 

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

25

SignaltoNoiseRatio
y SubstitutingEqs.(615),(620),and(621)intoEq.(613)fortheSNRatthe

inputoftheamplifier,wehave

SNR

2 ip M2

(622)

2q ( I p  I D ) M 2 F ( M ) B  2qI L B  4k BTB / RL

y ForPINs,thedominatingnoisecurrentsarethoseofthedetectorload

resistor(thethermalcurrentiT)andtheactiveelementsoftheamplifier circuitry(iamp). )
y ForAPDs,thethermalnoiseisoflesserimportanceandthephoto

detectornoisesusuallydominate.
y FromEq.(618),itisseenthatthesignalpowerismultipliedbyM2 andthe

quantumnoiseplusbulkdarkcurrentismultipliedbyM2F(M).

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

26

SignaltoNoiseRatio
y TheoptimumgainatthemaximumSNRcanbefoundbydifferentiatingEq.

(622)withrespecttoM,settingtheresultequaltozero,andsolvingforM.
y Forasinusoidallymodulatedsignal,withm =1andF(M)approximatedby

Mx,willyield
x2 M opt

2qI L  4k B T / R L xq ( I P  I D )

(623) )

y Darkcurrentandsurfaceleakagecurrentnoisearetypicallynegligible,If

thermalnoiseisalsonegligible

SNR

2 ip

2q ( I p ) F ( M ) B

(624)

5/19/2012

RKKEC831EC831

27