Integrated Optical Detectors Detectors for use in integrated-optic applications must have high sensitivity, short response time,

large quantum efficiency and low power consumption [1]. In this chapter, a number of diffierent detector structures having these performance characteristics are discussed. 17.1 Depletion Layer Photodiodes The most common type of semiconductor optical detector, used in both integrated optic and discrete device applications, is the depletion-layer photodiode. The depletion-layer photodiode is essentially a reverse-biased semiconductor diode in which reverse current is modulated by the electron-hole pairs produced in or near the depletion layer by the absorption of photons of light. The diode is generally operated in the photodiode mode, with relatively large bias voltage, rather than in photovoltaic mode, in which the diode itself is the electrical generator and no bias voltage is applied [2]. 17.1.1 Conventional Discrete Photodiodes The simplest type of depletion layer photodiode is the p-n junction diode. The energy band diagram for such a device, with reverse bias voltage Va applied is shown in Fig. 17.1. The total current of the depletion layer photodiode consists of two components: a drift component originating from carriers generated in region (b) and a diffusion component originating in regions (a) and (c). Holes and electrons generated

in region (b) are separated by the reverse bias field, with holes being swept into the p-region (c) and electrons being swept into the n-region (a). Holes generated in the n-region or electrons generated in the p-region have a certain probability of diffusion to the edge of the depeletion region (b), at which point they are swept across by the field. Majority carriers, electrons in (a) or holes in (c) are held in their respective regions by the reverse bias voltage, and are not swept across the depletion layer.

Fig. 17.1 Energy band diagram for a p-n junction diode under application of a reverse bias voltage Va In order to minimize series resistance in a practical photodiode while still maintaining maximum depletion width, usually one region is much more heavily doped than the other. In that case, the depletion layer forms almost entirely on the more lightly doped side of the junction, as shown in Fig. 17.2. Such a device is called a high-low abrupt junction. In GaAs and its ternary and quaternary alloys, electron mobility is generally much larger than hole mobility. Thus, the pregion is usually made thinner and much more heavily doped than the n-region, so that the device

will be formed mostly in n-type material, and the p-region then serves essentially just as a contact layer. For a device with the high-low junction geometry indicated in Fig. 17.2, it can be shown that the total current density Jtot is given by [3] Jtot = q0 _ 1 eW _1 + L p_ _ + qpn0 Dp Lp (17.1) where 0 is the total photon flux in photons/cm2s, W is the width of the depletion layer, q is the magnitude of the electronic charge, is the optical interband absorption coefficient, Lp is the diffusion length for holes, Dp is the diffusion constant for holes, and Pn0 is the equilibrium hole density. The last term of (17.1) represents the reverse leakage current (or dark current), which results from thermally generated holes in the n-material. This explains why that term is not proportional to the photon flux 0. The first term of (17.1.1) gives the photocurrent, which is proportional Fig. 17.2 Energy band diagram for a p+-n (high-low) junction diode under application of a reverse bias voltage Va

to 0, and includes current from both the drift of carriers generated within the depletion layer and the diffusion and drift of holes generated within a diffusion length Lp of the depletion layer edge. The quantum efficiency q of the detector, or the number of carriers generated per incident photon, is given by q = 1 eW _1 + L p_ , (17.2) which can have any value from zero to one. It should be noted that (17.1) and (17.2) are based on the tacit assumption that scattering loss and free carrier absorption are negligibly small. The effect of these loss mechanisms on the quantum efficiency, when they are not negligible. is discussed in Section 17.1.3. It can be seen from (17.2) that, in order to maximize q. it is desirable to make the products W and Lp as large as possible. When W and Lp are large enough so that q is approximately equal to one, the diode current is then essentially proportional to 0, because the dark current is usually negligibly small. If the interband absorption coefficient is too small compared toWand Lp. many of the incident photons will pass completely through the active layers of the diode into the substrate, as shown in Fig. 17.3. Only those photons absorbed within the depletion layer, of thickness W, have maximum effectiveness in carrier generation.

Photons absorbed at depths up to a diffusion length Lp from the depletion layer edge are somewhat effective in generating photo-carriers, in that holes can diffuse into the depletion layer. Photons that penetrate to as depth greater than (W + Lp) before being absorbed are essentially lost to the photo-generation process because they have such a very low statistical probability of producing a hole that can reach the depletion layer and be swept across. Within the semiconductor, the photon flux (x) falls off exponentially with increasing depth x from the surface, as shown in Fig. 17.4. Thus, if is not large enough, many photons will penetrate too deeply before being absorbed, thus producing carriers that (on average) will recombine before diffusing far enough to reach the depletion layer. Interband absorption is a strong function of wavelength in a semiconductor. The absorption coefficient usually exhibits a special response curve that rises sharply at the absorption-edge (band-edge)wavelength and then saturates at awavelength that is Fig. 17.3 Diagram of a conventional mesa-geometry photodiode with p+-n doping profile showing photon penetration

Fig. 17.4 Optical absorption versus depth from the surface

in a conventional mesa photodiode slightly shorter than the bandgap wavelength, increasing slowly for yet shorter wavelengths. Thus, it is impossible to design a diode with an ideal W for all wavelengths. For wavelengths near the absorption edge, the long-wavelength response of a diode is limited by excess penetration of photons into the substrate, as shown in Figs. 17.3 and 17.4; its short wavelength response can be limited by too strong an absorption of photons in the p+ layer near the surface, where recombination probability is large. Aside from the reduction of quantum efficiency that results from poor matching of , W and Lp, there are some other limitations to depletion layer photodiode performance that are also important. Since W is usually relatively small (in the range from 0.1 to 1.0 m), junction capacitance can limit high-frequency response through the familiar R-C time constant. Also, the time required for carriers to diffuse from depths between W and (W + Lp) can limit the high frequency response of a conventional photodiode. The waveguide depletion layer photodiode, which is discussed in the next section, significantly mitigates many of these problems of the conventional photodiode. 17.1.2 Waveguide Photodiodes If the basic depletion layer photodiode is incorporated into a waveguide structure, as

shown in Fig. 17.5, a number of improvements in performance are realized. In this case, the light is incident transversely on the active volume of the detector, rather than being normal to the junction plane. The diode photocurrent density is then given by J = q0 _1 eL _ , (17.3) where L is the length of the detector in the direction of light propagation. Since W and L are two independent parameters, the carrier concentration within the detector volume and the bias voltage Va can be chosen so that the depletion layer thickness W is equal to the thickness of the waveguide, while L can be made as long as necessary to make L>>1. Thus 100% quantum efficiency can be obtained for any value of , by merely adjusting the length L. For example, for a material with the relatively small value of = 30 cm1, a length of L = 3 mm would give q = 0.99988. (Again, ithas been tacitly assumed in (17.3) that scattering loss and free-carrier absorption are negligible.) Because a waveguide detector can be formed in a narrow channel waveguide, the capacitance can be very small. even if L is relatively large. For example, for a material with a relative dielectric constant = 12, such as GaAs, a 3 mm long detector formed in a 3m wide channel waveguide has a capacitance of only 0.32 pF. This capacitance is about a factor of ten less than that of a typical conventional mesa photodiode. Hence, the high frequency response can be expected to be correspondingly

improved. Experimentally demonstrated bandwidth of 5 GHz and quantum efficiency of 83% have been obtained with waveguide detectors on GaAs substrate material [4], and InGaAs waveguide photodetectors on InP substrates also have exhibited a 5 GHz bandwidth for light in the wavelength range of 1.3 1.6m [5]. Computer simulation of waveguide photodetectors in AlGaInAs GaInAs, designed for ultrawide-band operation at 60 and 100 GHz, predict internal quantum efficiencies as high as 94% and 75%, respectively, at 1.55m wavelength [6]. Because all of the incident photons are absorbed directly within the depletion layer of a waveguide photodetector, not only is q improved, but also the time delay associated with the diffusion of carriers is eliminated. This result is a further improvement in high frequency response. Due to the many improvements in performance inherent in the transverse structure of the waveguide detector, as compared to the axial geometry of the conventional mesa photodiode, waveguide detectors should be considered for use in discrete-device applications, as well as in optical integrated circuits. At the present time, waveguide detectors are not commercially available as discrete devices. However, they can be fabricated with relative ease in many laboratories. Hence availability should not long be a problem. 17.1.3 Effects of Scattering and Free-Carrier Absorption The relations given by (17.1), (17.2) and (17.3) neglected the effects of free-carrier

absorption and photon scattering on the quantum efficiency of the detector. Becauseboth of these mechanisms result in the loss of photons without the generation of any new carriers, they tend to reduce quantum efficiency. In many cases they can be neglected, and (17.1), (17.2) and (17.3) will give accurate predictions. However, when the free carrier absorption coefficient FC and the scattering loss coefficient s are not negligible as compared to the interband absorption coefficient IB, a more sophisticated expression for q is required. Such an expression can be derived as follows. The photon flux at any point located a distance x from the surface of the detector on which the photons are first incident is assumed to have the form given by (x) = 0ex , (17.4) where in general the loss coefficient is given by = IB + FC + S. (17.5) The hole-electron pair generation rate G(x) is given by G (x) = IB0ex , (17.6) since only IB results in carrier generation. Thus the photocurrent density is given by J=q L 0 G (x) dx (17.7) or J = q0 IB IB + FC + S _1 e(IB+FC+S)L _ . (17.8)

Comparing (17.8) with (17.3), it is obvious that the effect of additional losses due to scattering and free-carrier absorption is to reduce the quantum efficiency by a factor of IB/, even when L is large enough to maximize q. If s and FC are small compared to IB, as is generally true, (17.8) reduces to (17.3). However, if the waveguide is inhomogeneous or is unusually rough, or if the detector volume is heavily doped so that s and FC are not negligible, then (17.8) must be used. 17.2 Specialized Photodiode Structures There are two very useful photodiode structures that can be fabricated in either a waveguiding or conventional, nonwaveguiding form. These are the Schottky-barrier photodiode and the avalanche photodiode. 17.2.1 Schottky-Barrier Photodiode The Schottky-barrier photodiode is simply a depletion layer photodiode in which the p-n junction is replaced by a metal-semiconductor rectifying (blocking) contact. For example, if the p-type layers in the devices of Figs. 17.3 and 17.5 were replaced by a metal that forms a rectifying contact to the semiconductor, Schottkybarrier photodiodes would result. The photocurrent would still be given by (17.1) and (17.3), and the devices would have essentially the same performance characteristics as their p+-n junction counterparts. The energy band diagrams for a Schottkybarrier diode,

under zero bias and under reverse bias, are given in Fig. 17.6. It can be seen that the depletion region extends into the n-type material just as in the case of a p+n junction. The barrier height B depends on the particular metalsemiconductor combination that is used. Typical values for B are about 1 V. In conventional mesa devices, a thin, optically transparent Schottkybarrier contact is often used (rather than a p+-n junction) to enhance shortwavelength response, by eliminating the strong absorption of these higher energy photons that occurs in the p+ layer. In a waveguide photodiode, a Schottky-barrier contact is not needed for improved short-wavelength response because the photons enter the active volume transversely. However, case of fabrication often makes the Schottkybarrier photodiode the best choice in integrated applications. For example, almost anymetal (except for silver) produces a rectifying Schottky-barrier when evaporated onto GaAs or GaAlAs at room temperature. Gold, aluminum or platinum are often used. Transparent conductive oxides such as indium Tin oxide (ITO) and cadmium Tin oxide (CTO) can also be used to eliminate the photon masking effect of the contacts and thereby improve the quantum efficiency, as described in Section 17.2.4. Photoresist masking is adequate to define the lateral dimensions during evaporation, and no careful control of time and temperature is required, as in the case of diffusion of a

shallow p+ layer. A detailed discussion of the properties of Schottky-barrier diodes is beyond the scope of this text so that the interested reader should refer to the information available elsewhere [7]. 17.2.2 Avalanche Photodiodes The gain of a depletion layer photodiode (i.e. the quantum efficiency), of either the p-n junction or Schottky-barrier type, can be at most equal to unity, under normal Fig. 17.6 conditions of reverse bias. However, if the device is biased precisely at the point of avalanche breakdown, carrier multiplication due to impact ionization can result in substantial gain in terms of increase in the carrier to photon ratio. In fact, avalanche gains as high as 104 are not uncommon. Typical current-voltage characteristics for an avalanche photodiode are shown in Fig. 17.7. The upper curve is for darkened conditions, while the lower one shows the effects of illummination. For relatively low reverse bias voltages, the diode exhibits a saturated dark current Id0 and a saturated photocurrent Iph0. However, when biased at the point of avalanche breakdown, carrier multiplication results in increased dark current Id, as well as increased photocurrent Iph. It is possible to define a photomultiplication factor Mph, given by Mph Iph Iph0 , (17.9)

and a multiplication factor M, given by M Iph + Id Iph0 + Id0 , (17.10) An exact equation for the current-voltage curve is difficult to obtain in the region of bias in which avalanche breakdown occurs. However, Miller [8] has represented the functional form of the photomultiplication factor by the expression Mph = 1 1 (Va/Vb)n . (17.11) where Vb is the breakdown voltage, and n is an empirically determined exponent depending on the wavelength of light, doping concentration, and, of course, the semiconductor material from which the diode is fabricated. For the case of large photocurrent Iph0 >> Id0 Melchior and Lynch [9] have shown that the multiplication faSpecialized Photodiode Structures 353 M=1 1 _ VaI R Vb _n , (17.12) where I is the total current, given by I = Id + Iph, (17.13) R being the series resistance of the diode (including space-charge resistance if significant). The derivation of (17.12) assumes that IR << Vb. For the case of Id0 and Id being negligibly small compared to Iph0 and Iph, it can be shown that the maximum attainable multiplication factor is given by [9] M = Mph

= _ Vb nIph0R . (17.14) Avalanche photodiodes are very useful detectors, not only because they are capable of high gain, but also because they can be operated at frequencies as high as 35 GHz [10, 11]. However, not every p-n junction or Schottky-barrier diode can be operated in the availanche multiplication mode, biased near avalanche breakdown. For example, the field required to produce avalanche breakdown in GaAs is approximately 4 105 V/cm. Hence, for a typical deplection width of 5m. Vb equals 120 V. Most GaAs diodes will breakdown at much voltages lower due to other mechanisms, such as edge breakdown or microplasma generation at localized defects, thus never reaching the avalanche breakdown condition. In order to fabricate an avalanche photo-diode, extreme care must be taken, beginning with a dislocation free substrate wafer of semiconductor material. Generally a guard ring structure [7, p. 203] must be employed to prevent edge breakdown. Avalanche photodiodes are highly-stressed devices. Hence, reliability is a question of prime concern. Increasing leakage current due to poor surface passivation or the generation of internal defects during high current pulse operation can lead to degradation of performance as the devices age. Nevertheless, when diodes are

carefully fabricated and are hermetically sealed into adequate packages, mean time to failure as high as 105 h at 170 C has been observed [1, p. 80], which projects to about 109 h at room temperature. 17.2.3 p-i-n Photodiodes In Section 17.1.1. it was pointed out that conventional photodiodes must be designed so as to have a large W product in order to maximize q; but one doesnt have complete control over either the depletion width W, which depends on dopant concentrations, or the absorption coefficient, which depends mostly on the bandgap. In the p-i-n photodiode, a very lightly doped intrinsic layer is formed between the p and n sides of the diode. This layer generally has a carrier concentration of less thanctor is given by 1014/cm3, but it is compensated by a balance of p- and n-type dopants rather than being truly intrinsic. Because of the low carrier concentration, the depletion layer in a p-i-n diode extends completely through the i layer so that the total thickness of the active layer is the sum of the i-layer thickness Wi and the deplection width on the lightly doped (n) side of the junction. Thus the device designer can adjust the total depletion width to produce a large W product by varying the thickness of the i-layer. The presence of the relatively thick i-layer also reduces the junction capacitance and increases the R-C cutoff frequency of the diode, p-i-n photo-diodes are

widely used as detectors in optical systems because of their high quantum efficiency (responsivity) and wide bandwidth. For example, Kato et al. [12] have reported a waveguide p-i-n photodiode operating at 1.55m wavelength with a quantum efficiency of 50% and a 3 dB bandwidth of 75 GHZ. 17.2.4 Metal-Semiconductor-Metal Photodiodes Metal-semiconductor-Metal (MSM) photodiodes are surface-oriented devices that feature interdigitated, finger-like, Schottky barrier contacts formed on the surface of a thin semiconducting layer on a semi-insulating substrate. A typical MSM photodiode structure is shown in Fig. 17.8. Carriers generated by the absorption of photons in regions of the semiconducting layer between the contacts are swept by the fringing electric field and collected by the contacts. Holes are collected by the cathode and electrons by the anode. Spacing of the contact fingers must be less than the diffusion length of the carriers in order to produce a high collection efficiency. Because the contact fingers are very narrow and closely spaced (1m) the capacitance is relatively low and the transit times of carriers are short. Hence, widebandwidth operation is possible. Hsiang et al. have made Si MSM diodes with 0.2m width and spacing with a full-width-half-maximum pulse response of 3.7 ps, corresponding to a 3 dB bandwidth at 110 GHz [13]. The Schottky electrodes of the MSM photodiode are essentially identical to the gate metalization of field-effect

transistors, which facilities their monolithic integration with FETs. For example, Mactaggart et al. [14] have made a fully-integrated 400 Mb/s burstmode data OEIC receiver for application as a phased-array antenna controller. Approximately 350 source-coupled FET logic gates are present on the GaAs chip, along with a 780 nm wavelength MSM photodiode. MSM photodiodes have also been integrated monolithically with High-Electron-Mobility field effect Transistors (HEMTs) to produce OEIC receivers with bandwidths larger than 14 GHz [15, 16]. HEMTs have also been integrated with p-i-n photodiodes to produce OEIC receivers with a bandwidth of 42 GHz [17]. The most significant disadvantage of MSM detectors is their inherent low responsibility because the metallization for the surface electrodes shadows the active light-collecting region. However, this problem can be mitigated by using a transparent conducting material for the contact electrodes. Gao et al. [18] have fabricated InGaAs MSM photodiodes with transparent Cadmium Tin Oxide (CTO) electrodes. The responsivity of these devices to 1.3m light was 0.49 A/W, as compared to 0.28 A/W for identical control samples with conventional Ti/Au electrodes. Another approach to improve the overall responsivity of an m-s-m photodiode is

to monolithically integrate it with an amplifier. For example, Cha et al. [19] have integrated an m-s-m photodiode with a high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) on an InP substrate, with an InGaAsP buffer layer (g = 1.3 m). They measured a responsivity of 0.7 A/W at a wavelength of =1.3 m, and the 1.5100 m2 gate HEMT had ft and fmax of 18.7 and 47 GHz, respectively. 17.3 Techniques for Modifying Spectral Response The fundamental problem of wavelength incompatibility, which was encountered previously in regard to the design and fabrication of monolithic laser/waveguide structures in Chapter 14, is also very significant with respect to waveguide detectors. An ideal waveguide should have minimal absorption at the wavelength being used. However a detector depends on interband absorption for carrier generation. Hence, if a detector is monolithically coupled to a waveguide, some means must be provided for increasing the absorption of the photons transmitted by the waveguide within the detector volume. A number of different techniques have proven effective in this regard.