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High-speed photodetectors.
1Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Murray Hill, NJ, USA.
Applied Optics
|January 9, 2010
Summary
This report reviews high-speed optical detectors for visible and near-infrared light. It focuses on devices with internal current gain, like vacuum tubes and p-n junctions, for detecting microwave-modulated signals.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Photonics
- Microwave Engineering
Background:
- High-speed optical detection is crucial for modern communication systems.
- Detectors must efficiently capture weak optical signals modulated at microwave frequencies.
- Existing technologies include vacuum and solid-state devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a status report on high-speed detectors for the visible and near-infrared spectrum.
- To emphasize detectors suitable for direct, noncoherent detection of microwave-modulated optical signals.
- To summarize the properties and limitations of key gain mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Review of vacuum tube devices utilizing secondary emission multiplication.
- Analysis of solid-state devices employing avalanche multiplication in p-n junctions.
- Comparison of detector performance for high-frequency signal detection.
Main Results:
- Both vacuum and solid-state detectors are viable for high-speed applications.
- Internal current gain is a critical feature for detecting weak signals.
- Secondary emission and avalanche multiplication offer distinct advantages and limitations.
Conclusions:
- High-speed optical detection relies on devices with internal gain mechanisms.
- Vacuum tube and solid-state technologies present different trade-offs for specific applications.
- Further development is needed to optimize detectors for microwave-frequency optical signal detection.
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