Light Detectors

Photodetection Mechanisms
Detectors convert light signals into electrical signals.
Internal Photoelectric Effect
Generation of mobile charge carriers in semiconductors by
absorption of photons.
Devices:
•pn photodiode . PIN photodiode
•avalanche photodiode (APD)
External Photoelectric Effect
Generation of free electrons when photons strike the
surface of a metal. Electrons are emitted from the surface.
Devices:
Vacuum Photodiode
Photomultiplier tube
1
 PHOTODETECTION MECHANISMS
Important Detector Properties
1. Responsivity:
i

Output Current  A /W
Input Optical Power P
P i
Optical Power Electrical Current
Photodetector
2. Spectral Response:
Range of optical wavelengths over which the detector is useful.
It is often displayed as a curve of responsivity versus wavelength.

0.5
Silicon Photodiode Response

0  (m)
0.9 1.1
2
 PHOTODETECTION MECHANISMS
3. Speed of Response:
Range of modulation frequencies over which the detector is
useful. As before, if tr is the rise time, the bandwidth is
(approximately) 0.35
f3dB 
tr
90%
P i
Input 10% Output

tr

Other Important Properties:

Size, temperature sensitivity, gain, lifetime, circuit
complexity, and cost.
3
 Vacuum Photodiode And
Photomultiplier
Cathode Anode
hf Vacuum
- + Photodiode

Electrons

- i
+
RL
V
v
The work function  is defined to be:
Energy required to liberate an electron from the metal
cathode.
Units of energy: Joules
In order to free an electron the photon energy must equal,
or exceed, the work function.
4
 VACUUM PHOTODIODE AND
PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Thus, the incoming photon frequency must satisfy:
hc hc
hf    
 
The longest wavelength that can be detected is called the
cutoff wavelength. It is given by:

hc 1.24
c  or
c 
 
where c is in m, and  in eV. For detection we require:

1.24
 

5
 VACUUM PHOTODIODE AND
PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Current flows through the load resistor RL during the time
that electrons travel from the cathode to the anode. At the
anode, the electrons and positive charges drawn there
through the circuit neutralize each other. The current stops
when the electrons reach the anode.

Example: Consider Cesium, where  = 1.9 eV.

Find the cutoff wavelength.
1.24
c   0.65  m
1 .9
This wavelength is shorter than the wavelengths
commonly used for glass fiber systems. Thus, this
detector will not work for fiber systems. 6
 VACUUM PHOTODIODE AND
PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Responsivity of the Vacuum Photodiode
Let h be the quantum efficiency, defined by

number of emitted electrons

h
number of incident photons
It is the fraction of incident photons that results in emitted
P i
electrons.
Optical Power Electrical Current
Detector

P ( energy/second ) photons

hf ( energy/photon ) second
P 
h    electrons generated per second
 hf 
 h P   Coulomb  electrons 
e    7
 hf   electrons  second 
 VACUUM PHOTODIODE AND
PHOTOMULTIPLIER
eh P
The current is thus: i
hf
i eh eh 
And the responsivity is:    
P hf hc
This result is valid for all photodetectors.

In general then, we have shown that i  P

From the photodiode circuit, the output voltage is

eh P
v  iRL  RL
hf
or v   PRL
8
 VACUUM PHOTODIODE AND
PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Conclusions
1. The detected current is proportional to the optical power,
which itself is proportional to the message current. Thus,
the receiver current is proportional to the input message
current as required.
2. The detector acts like a current source for the receiver.

Detector Receiver
P
i
i=P i
Detector Receiver

9
 VACUUM PHOTODIODE AND
PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Example: Compute the responsivity if h = 1% at
= 0.8 m.

eh (1.6  1019 )(0.01)(0.8  106 )

  34
 0.0064 A / W
hc (6.626  10 )(3  10 ) 8

  6.4 mA / W
Compute the output voltage if the input power is 1 W. Let RL
= 50 .
i   P  (6.4  103 )(106 )  6.4  109 A  6.4 nA

v  iRL  (6.4  109 )(50)  320 nV

Change RL to 50,000  and recompute the voltage.

v  (6.4  109 )(50  103 )  320  V  0.32 mV 10

 PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Photomultiplier Tube (PMT)

Cathode Anode
- ~100V ~400V +
~1000 V

~200V ~300V

Dynodes Secondary Electrons

i
- +

RL
V
v
( V ~ 1000 volts )

11
 PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Fast moving electrons hit the metal dynodes causing the
release of additional (secondary) electrons. Gains of 2 to 6
per dynode are typical.
Let:  = gain per dynode, and
N = number of dynodes
The total gain is
M = N

h ePM
The current is then i
hf
Example:

Let N  9 dynodes.   5. Find M

M  59  1.96  106  2 million 12

 Section 7.3
Semiconductor Junction Photodiode
hf

i
-
v
VB
RL
+

Reverse Bias

hf p n

13
 SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTION
PHOTODIODE
Reverse Biased Photodiode
p n

hf

E
-

Electron hf -----------
Energy
Wg
+++++++++
+

Junction
Region

14
 SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTION
PHOTODIODE
An incident photon absorbed in the junction gives up its
energy, creating a free electron and a free hole in the
junction.

As before ηeP
i
hf
i ηe
 
P hf
A condition for detection is that the photon energy be
greater than the bandgap energy:

Wg
hf  Wg f 
h
15
 SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTION
PHOTODIODE
At cutoff, then
c Wg hc
 c 
c h Wg
or 1.24 (7.11)
c 
Wg
where Wg is in eV and c is in m.
Only wavelengths where   c will be detected.

Example: Compute the cutoff wavelength for Silicon. The

bandgap energy for silicon is Wg = 1.1 eV
1.24
c   1 .1  m
1 .1 16
 SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTION
PHOTODIODE
Thus, silicon detectors are useful only in the first window 0.8 – 0.9
m for glass fiber systems.

0.5


A /W

0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1
 ( m )

17
 SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTION
PHOTODIODE
Example: Repeat the previous calculation for
germanium. Wg = 0.67 eV

1.24
c   1.85  m
0.67
Germanium detectors are useful in all fiber windows.

18
 SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTION
PHOTODIODE
Response Time
The pn photodiode responds slowly because many photons are
absorbed in the n and p regions close to the junction.

Diffusion E
p - n
hf
Electron
Energy
+

19
 PIN Photodiode
PIN Photodiode

hf Intrinsic Layer i
-
E
p + n

- Thin Layer v
V RL
+

The intrinsic layer is an insulator. Most of the photons are

absorbed in that layer because it is long. Most of the voltage
drop is across the intrinsic layer. This creates a high electric
field in the intrinsic layer. Now there is no delay caused by
diffusion and the response time is much faster that that of a pn
20
photodiode. 20
Cutoff Wavelength 7.4.1

A condition for detection is that the photon energy be

greater than the bandgap energy:
Wg
hf  Wg f 
h
At cutoff, then
c Wg hc
 c 
c h Wg

or 1.24
c 
Wg

Example: Compute the cutoff wavelength for Silicon. The

bandgap energy for silicon is Wg = 1.1 eV
1.24
c   1.1  m
1.1 21 21
 PIN PHOTODIODE
7.4.2 Materials

Wavelength Peak Peak

Material Range Response Responsivity
(m)  (m)  (A/W)
Silicon 0.3 – 1.1 0.8 0.5
Germanium 0.5 – 1.8 1.55 0.7
InGaAs 1.0 – 1.7 1.7 1.1

Photodetector Circuit
vd
p+ n-

- id
v
V RL
+ 22
22
7.4.3 Current-Voltage Characteristic

Silicon Photodiode

Diode Voltage vd (volts)

-20 -10 0 0.5

ID
P = 10 W
-5
Diode
-10 Current
20 id (A)
-15
30
-20

40
Photovoltaic
Photoconductive Region
Region
23 23
 Current-Voltage Characteristic

ID is called the dark current.

This is the current that flows when no photons are incident . It
is due to thermal generation of minority charge carriers. Small
optical signals are masked by the dark current. For good signal
reception, the received power must greatly exceed levels of
power which generate currents on the order of the dark current.

24 24
 Current-Voltage Characteristic

Typical Dark Current Values

Silicon 2 nA
InGaAs 50 nA
Germanium 500 nA

Example: Compute the responsivity from the

vd – id curve given several slides back.
Solution: id = -10 A when P = 20 W, so that

id 10
   0.5  A / W
P 20
25 25
 Current-Voltage Characteristic

Example: Let ID = 2 nA in the previous example. What is the

minimum detectable optical power if we can detect a signal
current equal to (or greater than) the dark current?
Solution: We want i = 2 nA as a minimum.

i  P
i 2 nA
P   4 nW
 0.5 nA / nW
We can detect powers as low as 4 nW.

26 26
 Avalanche Photodiode

The avalanche photodiode (APD) is a pin photodiode having

internal gain. The circuit is the same as that for a conventional pin
photodiode.
APD
RL
-
VB
+

The supply voltage is on the order of a few hundred volts to

produce a high electric field in the junction. When a photon is
absorbed in the junction, free charges are released as we
described for the pin photodiode. These charges are
accelerated by the force of the high electric field. The charges
gain kinetic energy and collide with neutral atoms. 27
 AVALANCHE PHOTODIODE
The kinetic energy causes the release of new free charges from
the neutral atoms . These new free charges go through the same
process, ionizing even more atoms, creating even more free
charges. An avalanche of new charges flow in the junction
increasing the total circuit current. In this way, there is an
increase (gain) in the current.
Gains up to a few hundred are possible.
The APD is the solid state equivalent of the photomultiplier tube
(PMT).
1. Unfortunately, it does not have as much gain as the PMT.
2. Fortunately, it is a solid state device and is compatible with
fiber-optic system requirements.
3. The APD improves the receiver sensitivity.
28