Monte Carlo Simulation of ${\\rm Al}_{x}{\\rm Ga}_{1-{x}}{\\rm As}~(x\\geq 0.6)$ Avalanche Photodiodes

Author

Sun, Wenlu ; Zheng, Xiaoguang ; Lu, Zhiwen ; Campbell, Joe C.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

Volume

47

Issue

12

fYear

2011

Firstpage

1531

Lastpage

1536

Abstract

In this paper, a Monte Carlo model is used to investigate the impact ionization properties of Al_xGa_1-xAs with a high composition of Al (x ≥ 0.6). Two Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (APD) structures using Al_xGa_1-xAs as the multiplication region are studied. Simulations show a strong link between the APD properties and the electric field profile. It was also found that Al_9.6Ga_0.4As APD structure has higher excess noise and more abrupt breakdown probability compared to Al_0.8Ga_0.2As.

Keywords

Monte Carlo methods; aluminium compounds; avalanche photodiodes; ionisation; Geiger mode avalanche photodiode; Monte Carlo simulation; avalanche photodiodes; breakdown probability; electric field profile; high composition; ionization properties; Avalanche photodiodes; Gallium arsenide; Impact ionization; Monte Carlo methods; Photodetectors; Semiconductor process modeling; Avalanche photodiode; Monte Carlo simulation; breakdown probability; impact ionization; photodetector;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JQE.2011.2174616

Filename

6069809

Monte Carlo Simulation of Avalanche Photodiodes

Sun, Wenlu ; Zheng, Xiaoguang ; Lu, Zhiwen ; Campbell, Joe C.

jour

Monte Carlo Simulation of ${\\rm Al}_{x}{\\rm Ga}_{1-{x}}{\\rm As}~(x\\geq 0.6)$ Avalanche Photodiodes