PHOTODETECTOR

GROUP 5
Nooraisyah Binti Abdullah
(175844)
Azlina Binti Tajuddin (175454)
Anne Tham (176842)

What is a Photodetector?
Converts optical signal (light) into
electrical signal
- Voltage
- Current
Response is proportional to the
power in the beam
Include any device for registering
photons with frequencies above
that of radio waves from far
infrared on up to gamma rays
Widely used in optical
communication systems

 The fundamental element of optical

receiver, followed by amplifiers and
signal conditioning circuitry
It works on the principle of
Photoelectric effect

 When a photon of sufficient energy enters the

depletion region of a semiconductor diode, it may
strike an atom with sufficient energy to release
the electron from the atomic structure.
This creates a free electron and a hole (i.e. an
atom with a space for an electron).
The electron is negatively charged, while the hole
is positively charged.
The electrons and holes may remain free, or other
electrons may combine with holes to form
complete atoms again in the crystal lattice.
However it is possible that the electrons and holes
may remain free and be pulled away from the
depletion region by an external field.
In this way the current through the diode will
change and a photocurrent is produced.

 If electric field imposed on photodetector, an

electric current (photocurrent) is produced
photodiode

History
John N. Shive was an American physicist and
inventor who made remarkable contributions in
solid state physics and electronic engineering
during the early days of development of
transistors at the Bell Telephone Laboratories.
Graduation in physics and chemistry in the year
1934 and PhD in the year 1939.
In 1948, the Shive implicated light beam instead
of emitter terminal as wire for transistor,
generating holes that flow via collector; latterly
this device was appellate as phototransistor.

REQUIREMENTS
Good sensitivity (responsivity) at the
desired wavelength and poor
responsivity elsewhere wavelength
selectivity
Fast response time high bandwidth
Compatible physical dimensions
Low noise
Insensitive to temperature variations
Long operating life and reasonable
cost

Modes of operation
PHOTOVOLTAIC MODE
Zero bias / thermal equilibrium state
operated with no applied voltage.
provides low noise
PHOTOCONDUCTIVE MODE
Reverse bias - the only current that can flow is the
reverse current, due to thermally generated
minority carriers
activated when there is an applied reverse
voltage
results in a higher response speed than
photovoltaic
increased noise

Main Types of
Photodetector
3 main types
1.Photodiode
2.PIN photodiode
3.Avalanche photodiode
4.Phototransistor

Photodiode
Photo means light
Diode means a device pertaining of two
electrodes
A photodiode is a light sensitive electronic
device capable of converting light into a
voltage or current signal.
based on a junction of oppositely doped
regions (pn junction)
diode is operated under reverse bias
conditions.

PIN Photodiode
Reversed bias high resistivity of the intrinsic
laye
Larger depletion region lower capacitance
The illumination window for a PIN is on the P-side
of the diode because the mobility of electrons is
greater than holes which results in better
frequency response

Pin Photodiode

The high electric field present in the depletion region causes photogenerated carriers to separate and be collected across the reverse
biased junction. This give rise to a current flow in an external circuit,
known as photocurrent.

Avalanche photodiodes
(APD)
High sensitivity, high speed semiconductor
light sensors.
Compared to regular PIN construction
photodiodes, APDs, have an internal region
where electron multiplication occurs by
application of an external reverse voltage and
the resultant gain in the output signal means
that low light levels can be measured at high
speed.
Incident photons create electron hole pairs in
the depletion layer of a silicon photodiode
structure and these moves towards respective
electrode according to electric field strength.

 Operated with much higher reverse

bias.
This allows each photo-generated
carrier to be multiplied by avalanche
breakdown.
The effect is known as impact
ionization/avalanche effect.
Resulting in internal gain within

Phototransistor
Phototransistor is designed to amplify the output
from a photodiode using a transistor.
Provides higher output signal levels.
Structure that basically combines a photodiode
and a transistor.

Application
COMMUNICATIONS
- Example: Fiber optic
communications

REMOTE-SENSING
- Example: Safety &

Fiber optic communications

systems
Photodetectors
operate at IR
region
Detectors are
photodiodes
(InGaAs)
Data
communication
rates as high as
2.5 Gbits/s

Safety and Security

The detection of the
presence or absence of an
object.
Detectors are
photoconductors.
Collision detection in
automobile industry.
In factories, the electrical
arc detection automatically
cutting off the current
where arcing occurs.

Environmental Sensing
Pollution detection by UV
spectroscopy
Fluorescence spectroscopy
Chemilumine scence
Solid particulates in air and water
can be detected by amount of
light scattered
Lidar scattering for monitoring of
pollution over large areas
Satellite-mounted IR

SUMMARY
A photodetector is an optoelectronic device
Absorbs optical signals and converts them into
electrical signals.
The junction uses an illumination window with an
anti-reflect coating to absorb the light photons.
The result of the absorption of photons is the
creation of electron-hole pairs in the depletion
region such as photodiodes and phototransistors.
The basic requirements of a photodetector are
sensitivity at the required wavelength, efficient
conversion of photons to electrons; fast response
to operate at high frequencies, low noise for
reduces errors, sufficient area for efficient
coupling to optical fiber, high reliability and low
costs.

THANK
YOU