Monte-carlo particle model study of a microwave photodetector

We have simulated a microwave photodetector for use in photoreceivers. The detector is exposed to a flash of duration less than 25 fs. It responds with a current pulse of a few picoseconds duration; the delay in response is about 1 ps. Only a fraction of the generated carriers contribute to this response; the rest remain resident inside the device in the form of a stationary electron-hole plasma, which will eventually recombine. Below a threshold electric field of 1 MV m¿1 for a detector doped at 1022 carriers m¿3, no response in the form of a current pulse could be seen.