PHOTODETECTORS

General configuration of Optical Fiber

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Communication System
 General configuration of Optical Fiber
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Communication System
 General configuration of Optical Fiber
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Communication System
 General configuration of Optical Fiber
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Communication System
 General configuration of Optical Fiber
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Communication System
Photo detector
 Photo detector converts an optical signal into an
electrical signal
 Photodetectors made of semiconductor materials
absorb incident photons and produces electrons
 if electric field imposed on photodetector an electric
current (photocurrent) is produced.
Performance Requirements
 A high sensitivity to the emission wavelength range of
the received light signal
 A minimum addition of noise to the signal
 A fast response speed to handle the desired data rate
 Be insensitive to temperature variations
 Be compatible with the physical dimensions of the fiber
 Have a reasonable cost compared to that of other
system components
 Have a long operating lifetime
Optical detection principle
Absorption coefficient
 The absorption of photons in a photodiode to
produce carrier pairs and thus a photocurrent is
dependent on the absorption coefficient α0 of the
light in the semiconductor used to fabricate the
device.
 At a specific wavelength and assuming only
bandgap transitions (i.e. intrinsic absorber) the
photocurrent Ip produced by incident light of optical
power Po is given by
Absorption coefficient

PO e(1  r )
IP  [1  exp( 0 d )]
hf
 where e is the charge on an electron, r is the
Fresnel reflection coefficient at the
semiconductor–air interface and d is the width
of the absorption region.
 The absorption coefficients of semiconductor
materials are strongly dependent on wavelength
as shown in the diagram.
Absorption coefficient
Photodetector Materials
 The choice of a photodetector material is important
since its bandgap properties determine the
wavelength range over which the device will
operate.
 Early optical fiber systems used photodetectors
made of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium
arsenide (GaAs), since these materials were
available and respond well to photons in the 800-
to 900-nm region.
Photodetector Materials
 Table summarizes the wavelength ranges over which
these materials are sensitive and the corresponding
cutoff wavelength.
Photodetector Characteristics
 Quantum efficiency: The quantum efficiency η is
defined as the fraction of incident photons which
are absorbed by the photodetector and generate
electrons which are collected at the detector
terminals: number of electrons collected

number of incident photons
re

rp
where rp is the incident photon rate (photons per
second) and re is the corresponding electron rate
(electrons per second).
Quantum efficiency
 The quantum efficiency is generally less than unity
as not all of the incident photons are absorbed to
create electron–hole pairs.
 the quantum efficiency is a function of the photon
wavelength and must therefore only be quoted for
a specific wavelength.
Responsivity
 The performance of a photodiode may be
characterized by its responsivity R. This is related to the
quantum efficiency by

Ip
R ( AW 1 ) (1)
Po
 Where Ip is the output photocurrent in amperes and Po is
the incident optical power in watts (i.e. output optical
power from the fiber).
 The responsivity is a useful parameter as it gives the
transfer characteristic of the detector (i.e. photocurrent
per unit incident optical power).
Responsivity
 The relationship for responsivity (Eq. (1)) may be
developed to include quantum efficiency as follows.
Considering Eq. of the energy of a photon E = hf.
 Thus the incident photon rate rp may be written in
terms of incident optical power and the photon
energy as:
Po
rp  (2)
hf
electron rate is given by
re  rp (3)
Responsivity

substituting from eq.(2)

P
re  o (4)
hf
therefore the output photocurrent is given by
P e
IP  o (5)
hf
where e is the charge on an electron.
Thus from Eq. (1) the responsivity may be
written as :
e
R (6)
hf
Equation (6) is a useful relationship for responsivity which may be developed a stage
further to include the wavelength of the incident light.
Responsivity
 The frequency f of the incident photons is related to
their wavelength λ and the velocity of light in air c,
by:

c
f  (7)

Substituting into Eq. (6) a final expression for the
responsivity is given by :
e
R (7)
hc
Responsivity
 The ideal responsivity against wavelength
characteristic for a silicon photodiode with unit
quantum efficiency is illustrated in Figure
Responsivity
 Following fig.compares the responsivities and
quantum efficiencies of the photodiodes based on
silicon, germanium and the InGaAs ternary alloy.
Examples
Examples
Long wavelength cutoff

 It is essential when considering the intrinsic

absorption process that the energy of
incident photons be greater than or equal
to the bandgap energy Eg of the
material used to fabricate the
photodetector.
 Therefore, the photon energy:
Long wavelength cutoff
hc
 Eg (1)

giving :
hc
 (2)
Eg
Thus the threshold for detection, commonly known
as the long - wavelength cutoff point c, is :
hc
c  (3)
Eg
The expression given in Eq. (3) allows the calculation of the longest wavelength of
light to give photodetection for the various semiconductor materials used in the fabrication
of detectors.
Long wavelength cutoff
P-N Photodiode
The width of the depletion region is therefore
dependent upon the doping concentrations for a given
applied reverse bias (i.e. the lower the doping,
the wider the depletion region)

The absorption region’s position and width depend upon the

energy of the incident photons and on the material from which
the photodiode is fabricated.
P-N Photodiode
 In PN photodiode electron-hole pairs are generated
in both depletion & diffusion regions.
 In depletion region carrier pairs separate and drift
while in diffusion region hole diffuses towards
depletion.
 Diffusion process is slow compared to drift and thus
limits the response of the photodiode.
 Therefore it is important that photons are absorbed
in depletion region.
P-N Photodiode
 Depletion region is made as long as possible by
decreasing the doping in the n-type material.
 The depletion region width is normally 1 to 3 µm
and is optimized for the efficient detection of light
at a given wavelength.
 For silicon devices this is in the visible spectrum(0.4
to 0.7 µm) & for germanium in the near infrared
(0.7 to 0.9 µm).
P-N Photodiode
The p–i–n photodiode
The p–i–n photodiode
 Fig.(a) shows the front
illuminated photodiode
operating in the 0.8 to 0.9
µm.
 It requires a depletion
region of between 20 to
50µm to attain high
quantum efficiency (85%)
with fast response(less than (a)Structure of s front-illuminated
1 ns) & low dark current (1 silicon p-i-n photodiode
nA).
The p–i–n photodiode
 In the side-iiluminated
photodiode light is injected
parallel to the junction
plane, exhibits a large
absorption width (500 μm)
and hence is particularly Structure of a side-illuminated
sensitive at wavelengths (parallel to junction) p–i–n photodiode
close to the bandgap limit
(1.09 μm) where the
absorption coefficient is
relatively small.
 The p–i–n photodiode
 The favored material is the lattice-
matched In0.53Ga0.47As/InP which
can detect at wavelengths up to1.67
μm.
 A typical planar device structure is
shown in Figure 8.8(a) which requires
epitaxial growth of several layers on
an n-type InP substrate.
 The incident light is absorbed in the
low-doped n-type InGaAs layer
generating carriers, as illustrated in
the energy band diagram
The p–i–nThisphotodiode
device incorporates a p+-
InGaAsP layer to provide a
heterojunction structure which
improves quantum efficiency.
It provides low capacitance
& fast switching response.
Quantum efficiency is 75%
to 100%

Disadvantage:
Trapping of charges as
shown in diagram (b).
 The p–i–n photodiode
thin layer of InGaAs (thickness of 0.20 μm) Two graded layers of InGaAsP material,
used as the absorption material which is each having a thickness of 0.80 μm, are
lattice matched to an InP substrate thus also employed above and below the
providing operation at a wavelength of absorption layer to avoid charge trapping.
1.55 μm.

To overcome the tradeoff between the capacitance and contact

resistance this diode is ideal.
InGaAs is absorption material of thickness 0.20 µm .
Operating wavelegth is 1.55 µm
 η is 80% at 10 GHz.
Speed of response and traveling-wave
photodiodes
 Three main factors limit the speed of response of a
photodiode.
 Drift time of carriers through the depletion region-The
speed of response of a photodiode is fundamentally
limited by the time it takes photogenerated carriers to
drift across the depletion region. When the field in the
depletion region exceeds a saturation value, the
carriers may be assumed to travel at a constant
(maximum) drift velocity υd. The longest transit time,
tdrift, is for carriers which must traverse the full
depletion layer width w and is given by:
w
t  (1)
drift v
d
Speed of response and traveling-wave
photodiodes
 Diffusion time of carriers generated outside the
depletion region-Carrier diffusion is a comparatively
slow process where the time taken, tdiff, for carriers to
diffuse a distance d may be written as:
d2
t diff  (2)
2 Dc

 where Dc is the minority carrier diffusion coefficient. For

example, the hole diffusion time through 10 μm of silicon is 40
ns whereas the electron diffusion time over a similar distance is
around 8 ns.
Speed of response and traveling-wave
photodiodes
 Time constant incurred by the capacitance of the
photodiode with its load- A reverse biased photodiode
exhibits a voltage-dependent capacitance caused by
the variation in the stored charge at the junction. The
junction capacitance Cj is given by:
sA
Cj  (3)
w
 where εs is the permittivity of the semiconductor
material and A is the diode junction area. Hence, a
small depletion layer width w increases the junction
capacitance.
Example
Example
Speed of response and traveling-wave
photodiodes
 The ultimate bandwidth of the device is limited by
the drift time of carriers through the depletion
region tdrift
 In this case, when assuming no carriers are
generated outside the depletion region and that
there is negligible junction capacitance, the
maximum photodiode 3 dB bandwidth Bm is given
by
1 vd
Bm   (4)
2t drift 2w
Example
 Photodiode Response to Rectangular
Optical Input Rising
Pulse and falling edges of the
when there is significant diffusion photodiode
of output
carriersfollow
outside
the the
depletion region, as is the case when inputthe
pulse
depletion
quite well.
layer is too
When the detector capacitance
narrow (wis larger,
≤ 1/α0) the speed
and carriers are therefore created by
of response becomes limited by the
absorption RC time
outside thisconstant
region, then the output pulse displays a
of this capacitance andlong
the load resistor by
tail caused associated with component to the input optical
the diffusion
the receiver circuit and thus the output pulse appears
pulse,
Noise in Photodetectors
 For detection of weakest optical signals the
photodetector and its following amplifying circuitry
are to be optimized so that maximum signal to
noise ratio is maintained.
 The power signal to noise ratio S/N at the output of
an optical receiver is defined as:
𝑆 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡
=
𝑁 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟+𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
SNR can not be improved by amplification
Noise in Photodetectors
 Shot Noise: Quantum noise arises due optical power
fluctuation because light is made up of discrete
number of photons
1 1
2
( i s )  ( 2eB I )
2
2
(1)

 where 𝑖 2 𝑠 =mean square current variation

Noise in Photodetectors
 The noise sources in the receiver are
 Photodetector noises resulting from photon to electron
conversion.
 Thermal noise associated with the amplifier circuitry.

 Various figures of merit are used to assess the noise

performance of optical detectors are:
1. Noise Equivalent Power
2. Detectivity D
3. Specific Detectivity Dsp
Noise in Photodetectors
 Noise Equivalent Power: Defined as the incident optical
power a particular wavelength or with a specified
spectral content required to produce a photodetector
current equal to the rms noise current within a unit
bandwidth.
to obtain the expression for NEP at a specific wavelength eq.
Po e
Ip 
hf
must be rearranged to give :
I p hf I p hc
Po   (2)
e e
Noise in Photodetectors
 Noise Equivalent Power:

then putting the photocurrent I P equal to the rms

shot noise current in eq.(1)gives
1
I p  ( 2e I B ) 2
(3)
the photodiode average current I may be represented
by (I p  I d )where I d is the dark current within the device.
1
I p  [2e( I p  I d ) B ] 2
(4)
Noise in Photodetectors
when I p  I d then
I p  2eB (3)
substituting eq.(3) into eq.(1) & putting B  1 Hz gives the NEP as
2hc
NEP  Po  (4)

when I p  I d then from eq.(3) the photocurrent becomes
1
I p  [2eId B ] 2
(5)
hence for a phtodiode in which th edark current noise is dominant
the use of eq(1) with B  1 gives an expression for the NEP of :
1
2
hc( 2eI d )
NEP  Po  (6)
e
Noise in Photodetectors
 Detectivity: defined as the inverse of the NEP. Thus
1
D= (7)
𝑁𝐸𝑃
 Considering a photodiode receiving monochromatic
radiation with the dark current as its dominant noise
source then from eq.(6) & (7)

e
D  D  1
(8)
2
hc( 2eI d )
Noise in Photodetectors
 Specific Detectivity: It is parameter which
incorporates the area of the photodetector A in
oreder to take account of the effect of this factor
on the amplitude of the device dark current.

1
e
D  DA 
* 2
1
(10)
2
hc( 2eI d / A)
Example
Example
Travelling Wave Photodiode
 Photodetector efficiency decreases as bandwidth
increases.
 Waveguide photodetectors are an attractive option for
increasing the bandwidth efficiency product over the
intrinsic limit of vertically illuminated photodetectors.
 A travelling wave photodetector is waveguide
photodetector with an electrode structure designed to
support travelling electrical waves with characteristic
impedance matched to that of the external circuit.
Travelling Wave Photodiode

To reduce the RC time constant

limitation in TW structure absorption
The photgenerated carriers are & carrier drift regions are
controlled by the electrical tx lines perpendicular to each other.
and the absorption occurs in
(a) Structure
waveguide that collects of Travelling Wave Photodiode
these photo
generated carriers.
Travelling Wave Photodiode
 Disadvantage: optical and electrical signals have
different velocities and they do not arrive at same
time.

(b) Periodic Travelling Wave Photodiode

Instead of single photodiode absorption, all the

photodiodes come into picture means all the optical
power is collected together to improve the o/p signal
power.
Avalanche photodiodes
 Avalanche photodiodes internally multiply primary
signal photocurrent before it enters the input
circuitry of following amplifier.
 This increases receiver sensitivity because
photocurrent is multiplied before encountering
thermal noise associated with receiver circuit.
 In order for carrier multiplication to take place the
photo generated carriers must travel a region
where very high electric field is present.
Avalanche photodiodes
 In this high field region a photogenerated electron or
hole can gain enough energy so that it ionizes bound
electrons in valence band upon colliding with them.
 This carrier multiplication mechanism is known as Impact
Ionization.
 The net result of impact ionization is that a single
primary electron, generated through absorption of a
photon, creates many secondary electrons and holes, all
of which contribute to the photodiode current.
Avalanche photodiodes
 The newly generated carriers are also accelerated
by high electric field gaining enough energy to
cause further impact ionization. This phenomenon is
known as Avalanche Effect.
Reach through APD
High resistance p-type material
deposited as an epitaxial layer on
p+ material followed by n+ layer. This
configuration known as p+πpn+
structure.
RAPD Structure
Reach through APD
 The term reach through arises from photodiode
operation.When low reverse bias voltage is applied
most of potential drop is across the pn+ junction.
 The depletion layers widens with increasing bias
until a certain voltage is reached at which the peak
electric field at the pn+ junction is about 5 to 10 %
below that needed to cause avalanche breakdown.
 At this point the depletion layer just reaches through
the nearly intrinsic π region.
Ionization Rate
 The average number of electron-hole pairs created by
a carrier per unit distance travelled is called the
ionization rate.
 Most materials exhibit different electron ionization rates
α & hole ionization rates β.

k

 This ratio is a measure of photodetector performance.
Avalanche Multiplication
 In the high electric field or avalanche region or
multiplication region the charge carrier
multiplication takes place due to impact ionization
or avalanche effect.
 The multiplication factor is a measure of internal
gain provided by APD.
Im
Avalanche Multiplication(M) 
Ip
 Where Im =average value of the total multiplied o/p current
Ip=the primary or initial photocurrent
Responsivity of RAPD

q
RRAPD  M  R0 M
hf

where R 0  unity gain responsivity

Example
Example
Benefits and drawbacks of APD
 Benefits:
 APDs have internal gian which helps detection of
very low light levels.
 They generally provide an increase in sensitivity of
between 5 and 15 dB over p–i–n photodiodes
 Gives a wider dynamic range as a result of their
gain variation with response time and reverse bias.
Benefits and drawbacks of APD
 Drawbacks:
 fabrication difficulties due to their more complex structure
and hence increased cost;
 the random nature of the gain mechanism which gives an
additional noise contribution
 the high bias voltages required particularly for silicon
devices (150 to 400 V) which although lower for germanium
and InGaAs APDs (20 to 40 V) are similarly wavelength
dependent;
 the variation of the gain (multiplication factor) with
temperaturethus temperature compensation is necessar to
stabilize the operation of the device.
Comparisons of Photodetectors

Generic operating parameters of Si,Ge,and INGaAs pin photodiodes

Comparisons of Photodetectors

Generic operating parameters of Si,Ge,and INGaAs Avalanche photodiodes