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Guard Ring Design to Prevent Edge Breakdown in Double-Diffused Planar InGaAs/InP Avalanche Photodiodes
Yu-Chun Chen1, Ruei-Hong Yan1, Hsu-Chia Huang1
1Graduated Institute of Electronics Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 25, 2023
Summary
Attached and floating guard rings improve InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode performance by preventing premature edge breakdowns. Optimal designs significantly increase breakdown voltages for reliable photodetector applications.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Semiconductor Device Physics
Background:
- Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are crucial for sensitive light detection.
- Premature edge breakdowns limit the operational voltage and reliability of planar APDs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and investigate attached guard rings (AGR) and floating guard rings (FGR) in InGaAs/InP APDs.
- To enhance breakdown voltage and prevent edge breakdowns in planar APDs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Zinc (Zn) diffusion depths to engineer AGR and FGR structures.
- Employed Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulations for AGR optimization.
- Fabricated and characterized devices with varying FGR spacing and diffusion opening widths.
Main Results:
- Optimal AGR depth shifted breakdown current from the active region edge to the AGR, increasing breakdown voltage.
- FGR devices with spacing beyond a critical value showed a ~1.5 V increase in breakdown voltage.
- Wider FGR opening widths correlated with higher breakdown voltages.
Conclusions:
- AGR and FGR designs effectively mitigate premature edge breakdowns in InGaAs/InP APDs.
- Guard ring optimization is critical for achieving higher operational voltages and improved device reliability.
- Experimental results for FGR showed more pronounced improvements than TCAD simulations, possibly due to diffusion profile discrepancies.
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