A physical phenomenon to implement a random (noninstantaneous) multiplication photodetector

The general characteristics that a physical phenomenon must exhibit to implement random multiplication are discussed. These attributes allow the process to be randomly distributed over time, and require it to be quickly resettable and able to respond to several photons in parallel. The response to each photon is the generation of a constant current of variable duration which is allowed to exhibit full-shot noise. it is shown that the conventional avalanche multiplication process does not satisfy all the above criteria. Further, finite medium avalanching is proposed as a viable phenomenon that satisfies all these constraints. The idealized device structure is implementable in a variety of forms and technologies.<>