Avalanche photodiodes and quenching circuits for single-photon detection
Avalanche photodiodes and quenching circuits for single-photon detection
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DOI：
10.1364/ao.35.001956
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发表时间：
1996-04-20
期刊：
影响因子：
1.9
通讯作者：
Zappa, F
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cova, S;Ghioni, M;Zappa, F
雪崩光电二极管在击穿电压以上以盖革模式与雪崩猝灭电路连接工作，可用于探测单光子，因此称为单光子雪崩二极管SPAD。电路配置适合这种操作模式进行了严格的分析，并评估其相对优点，在光子计数和定时应用。用于SPAD器件测试和选择的简单无源猝灭电路（PQC）的应用相当有限。适当设计的有源猝灭电路（AQC）可以充分利用SPAD的最佳性能。在高电压（250-450 V）下工作的厚硅SPAD在540- 850 nm波长下具有高于50%的光子探测效率，并且在1064 nm下仍然接近3%。在低电压（10-50 V）下工作的薄硅SPAD在500 nm处具有45%的效率，在830 nm处下降到10%，在1064 nm处下降到低至0.1%。在光子定时中实现的时间分辨率是20 ps FWHM与薄SPAD的;它的范围从350到150 ps FWHM与厚SPAD的。厚硅SPAD的最小计数死时间和最大计数速率分别为40 ns和10 Mcps，薄硅SPAD的最小计数死时间和最大计数速率分别为10 ns和40 Mcps。锗和III-V族化合物半导体SPAD将近红外区域中的光子计数技术的范围扩展到至少1600 nm波长。
Avalanche photodiodes, which operate above the breakdown voltage in Geiger mode connected with avalanche-quenching circuits, can be used to detect single photons and are therefore called single photon avalanche diodes SPAD's. Circuit configurations suitable for this operation mode are critically analyzed and their relative merits in photon counting and timing applications are assessed. Simple passive-quenching circuits (PQC's), which are useful for SPAD device testing and selection, have fairly limited application. Suitably designed active-quenching circuits (AQC's) make it possible to exploit the best performance of SPAD's. Thick silicon SPAD's that operate at high voltages (250-450 V) have photon detection efficiency higher than 50% from 540- to 850-nm wavelength and still similar to 3% at 1064 nm. Thin silicon SPAD's that operate at low voltages (10-50 V) have 45% efficiency at 500 nm, declining to 10% at 830 nm and to as little as 0.1% at 1064 nm. The time resolution achieved in photon timing is 20 ps FWHM with thin SPAD's; it ranges from 350 to 150 ps FWHM with thick SPAD's. The achieved minimum counting dead time and maximum counting rate are 40 ns and 10 Mcps with thick silicon SPAD's, 10 ns and 40 Mcps with thin SPAD's. Germanium and III-V compound semiconductor SPAD's extend the range of photon-counting techniques in the near-infrared region to at least 1600-nm wavelength.