Design and Analysis of Quantum Dot Based Avalanche Photodiode with Intersubband Multiplication

This article presents an avalanche photodiode with quantum dot layers in its active region which operates at 10µm. Performance of this structure is based on intersubband impact ionization phenomenon in quantum dots. The proposed detector requires lower energy threshold for the onset of avalanche phenomenon, hence it can work in lower operating voltages. In this paper, by presenting a theoretical approach for calculation of intersubband transition rate and electron-electron interaction, the photo-generated current is modeled and consequently the responsivity is calculated. Results show that peak responsivity about 1.9 A/W can be obtained at a voltage of 14V. Also the dark current is modeled and calculated at different temperatures and applied voltages.