Numerical simulation of millisecond laser-induced damage in silicon-based positive-intrinsic-negative photodiode

An axisymmetric mathematical model was established for millisecond-pulsed Nd:YAG laser heating of silicon-based positive-intrinsic-negative photodiode. The transient temperature fields were obtained by using the finite element method. The temperature dependences of the material parameters and the absorption coefficient were taken into account in the calculation. The results indicate that the optical absorption coefficient and the thermal conductivity are the two key factors for the temperature evolution. The diffusion of boron in the liquid phase and the introduction of deep-level defects in the depletion region of the photodiode were the two reasons for the millisecond laser-induced electrical degradation of the photodiode. The morphological damage threshold and electrical degradation threshold of the photodiode were obtained numerically. Meanwhile, the influence of the antireflection coating, the doping concentration, and the junction depth were also considered. The results show that the morphological damage threshold decreases with adding an antireflection coating, the increase of the doping concentration, and junction depth. The electrical degradation threshold increases only with the junction depth.