Scalable photodetector design with sub-picosecond response time

Ahasan Ahamed; Amita Rawat; Lisa N. McPhillips; Shih-Yuan Wang; M. Saif Islam

doi:10.1117/12.3002441

8 March 2024 Scalable photodetector design with sub-picosecond response time

Ahasan Ahamed, Amita Rawat, Lisa N. McPhillips, Shih-Yuan Wang, M. Saif Islam

Proceedings Volume 12895, Quantum Sensing and Nano Electronics and Photonics XX; 128950H (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3002441
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Addressing the persistent speed-efficiency trade-off, advanced photodetector designs are increasingly incorporating nanophotonic structures to enhance detection efficiency. However, contemporary detector technologies continue to grapple with issues of high-power consumption and limited scalability potential. Embedded nanostructures in photodetectors have already been demonstrated to improve efficiency, gain, and slight improvement in high-speed performance. This paper presents a unique, scalable detector design that leverages nanophotonic enhancement while delivering an ultra-high response time with sub-picosecond full-width-half-maximum for 450 nm illumination wavelength with low breakdown voltage (~8V). Our innovative design strategy involves etching nanoholes into conventional p-i-n photodetectors (1 μm absorbing layer) and doping alternate nanoholes with p+ and n+ doping. The nanoholes are etched all the way through the intrinsic layer to connect with the top and bottom highly doped p+ and n+ doped layer forming a composite vertical-lateral electric field in the photodetector. This technique drastically reduces the effective carrier transport length to mere hundreds of nanometers without diminishing the photon absorption area. As a result, the timing response improves significantly compared to conventional models achieving sharp rise time of ~0.6 ps, fall time of ~8.5 ps, and full width half maximum of <4 ps. Furthermore, the design offers scalability along with advances in lithography processes, setting a promising direction for ultra-high-speed detectors scaling down to <1 ps response time suitable for emerging applications.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Ahasan Ahamed, Amita Rawat, Lisa N. McPhillips, Shih-Yuan Wang, and M. Saif Islam "Scalable photodetector design with sub-picosecond response time", Proc. SPIE 12895, Quantum Sensing and Nano Electronics and Photonics XX, 128950H (8 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3002441

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