Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs) are a core component in some optical communications, quantum computing, and lidar systems. Many current efforts are focused on shrinking these devices, specifically for space-borne applications. However, there is a limit to this approach as it also shrinks the photo-active area. The active area of a GmAPD can be reduced without negatively affecting the detector performance, as long as the optical beam can be focused onto a region of the GmAPD with uniform PDE. Using Silvaco’s TCAD software, we model varied diameter mesa type APDs and determine the simulated active area. Next, we describe an experimental setup to measure the active area of a GmAPD with submicron precision. We present initial measurement results scanning across single pixels and compare these results to our simulated TCAD data.
Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs), also referred to as single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), are designed and fabricated by our group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. When bonded to a readout integrated circuit (ROIC), they form a system that can timestamp single photon arrival with sub nanosecond precision. When the pixels are armed in Geiger mode, they detect photons by creating an avalanche of electron-hole pairs in the detector material that can be detected by a ROIC. This paper explores a phenomenon known as afterpulsing, which can manifest itself as an increase in detector noise, or dark count rate. Afterpulsing occurs due to defects in the device structure that cause charge carriers from a previous avalanche to get trapped within the impurities of the device. If the extra charge carriers aren’t provided enough time to depopulate from the traps, the re-biasing of the individual device back into Geiger-mode operation has a time-based, statistical impact on the likelihood that the trapped carrier causes a secondary avalanche to occur upon re-arm. We investigate afterpulsing using a MIT Lincoln Laboratory designed 32x32 asynchronous readout integrated circuit bump-bonded to a InGaAs/InP 1550nm GmAPD array. This paper reports on how afterpulsing is affected by changing operating temperature, applied overbias voltage, and/or individual pixel holdoff time. Additionally, methods of determining afterpulsing with on-ROIC pixel interarrival data are discussed and best operating parameters to minimize afterpulsing for our GmAPD and ROIC are presented.
Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs) are a core component in optical communications, quantum computing, and lidar applications. However, for space-based applications, indium phosphide (InP) based APDs operating in the infrared (IR) suffer from accelerated radiation-induced performance degradation. Specifically, displacement damage induces defects in the APD material which deteriorate the electrical performance of the device (increased dark count rate (DCR)), limiting operability and lifetime. The amount of APD radiation damage scales with the volume of the avalanche region. The current approach to reducing the displacement damage in APD architectures is to shrink the entire APD diameter. However, this technique also shrinks the photo-active volume of the device, which imposes additional challenges for light absorption. In this paper, we examine candidate architectures to shrink the volume of the avalanche region while maintaining the absorber region. Using ATHENA and ATLAS software packages in Silvaco, we investigate several designs with varying sidewall etch profiles. We examine the change in electric field distribution and probability of avalanche, using these results to select candidate architectures for radiation-hardened APDs.
Arrays of Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs) are fabricated on a new type of engineered substrates with an epitaxial layer grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. The SOI-based structure facilitates rapid die-level bump bonding of the GmAPD array to a CMOS readout integrated circuit (ROIC) followed by substrate removal to make a backilluminated image sensor. To fabricate the engineered substrate, a commercial substrate with a 70-nm-thick SOI layer is implanted with BF2 ions to create a p+-doped passivation layer on the light illumination surface. Subsequently, a lightly p-doped silicon layer on which the GmAPD will be fabricated is grown using a homoepitaxy process. This approach allows for the use of chip-level hybridization to CMOS, avoiding the high cost and demanding wafer flatness and smoothness requirements of wafer-scale 3D integration processes. The new process yields cleaner wafers and allows for tighter control of detector layer thickness compared to the previous process. GmAPDs fabricated on 5-μm-thick epitaxial silicon have over 70% photon detection efficiency (PDE) when 532 nm light is focused into the center 3 μm of the device with an oxide layer that remains after substrate removal. With an anti-reflective coating, the PDE can be improved.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a Europa Lander astrobiology mission concept to search for biosignatures within Europa’s subsurface. However, Europa’s rugged terrain presents a number of physical hazards for landing. MIT Lincoln Laboratory is designing a radiation-hardened real-time direct-detection LIDAR system at 532nm to aid with autonomous hazard avoidance and landing site selection for this Europa Lander concept. The detector for this system is a 2048x32 array of silicon Geiger-mode APDs and covers the required field-of-view in one dimension, removing the need for 2D stitching and enabling real-time data processing. Detector design, improvements for radiation tolerance and component characterization results are presented.
We have developed 2048x32 arrays of silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GmAPDs) for a terrain mapping lidar to be used in planetary exploration missions. These devices support single photon detection with sub-ns timing. A key performance-limiting issue with arrays is optical crosstalk, in which hot-carrier light emission produced by an avalanche triggers spurious detection events in nearby pixels. To address this challenge, we have demonstrated a deep trench isolation process. This paper will report measurements of crosstalk between pixels in silicon GmAPD arrays, measurements both before and after the arrays are hybridized to a readout integrated circuit. Initial wafer probe measurements before hybridization show order-of-magnitude crosstalk reduction in a pair of test GmAPDs separated by 25 µm. These measurements use a novel technique based on analysis of the statistics of the time difference between the first detection events during a bias pulse. The results of our measurements are consistent with simulations of optical crosstalk modeled using optical ray tracing software.
A system-level performance evaluation of Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (GmAPD) arrays requires accurate measurement and prediction of the background rate of the device due to dark counts and other spurious detection events. Since a GmAPD detector reports only a binary value and timestamp associated with an avalanche event, dark count rates are typically measured by averaging thousands of frames to support a statistically significant measurement. For both synchronous and asynchronous detector, the Poisson distributed background rates are referenced to the time each pixel is armed. Unlike for synchronous GmAPD imagers where all the pixels are armed to an array-wide arm signal, an asynchronous pixel operates independently from its neighboring pixels; requiring the background rates to be calculated using an interarrival histogram. For both types of imagers, the background rate is typically evaluated by fitting an exponential distribution to a fixed window within a measured histogram of time intervals between detection events However, if the statistics of the background rate are insufficient – whether that is due to low population sizes, saturation, or a large dynamic range of population size across the array, the pixel, or array-wide, performance metrics may report results with varying accuracy. This paper reports on an implementation of an algorithm that evaluates GmAPD background rates based on statistical metrics rather than fixed windows. The algorithm functions by determining the appropriate integration window within the interarrival time histogram based on a per-pixel count rate set by a predetermined tolerable measurement error. The implementation of the algorithm allows us to characterize GmAPD arrays with orders of magnitude spread in background rates across the detector using common statistical parameters.
The NASA Psyche mission is set to explore an asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter with a launch date in 2022. Onboard the Psyche spacecraft is experimental demonstrator technology that will allow scientists to explore the capabilities of optical communications – a program called Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). DSOC seeks to improve communications performance by developing a space-based Flight Laser Transceiver (FLT) and a ground-based transceiver to enable photon-efficient communications with equipment in deep space. An integral part to this FLT system is a high-efficiency photon-counting camera (PCC) that is able to detect both the 1064nm uplink/beacon laser photons and 1550nm downlink laser photons with low background noise, and is capable of withstanding the rigors of space-travel. The paper details the characterization of several asynchronous Geiger-Mode Avalanche Photodiode (GmAPD) arrays developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory for use in the PCC- specifically evaluating the temperature dependence of background noise, photon detection efficiency at 1064nm and 1550nm wavelengths, pixel lifetime testing, and angle of acceptance measurements. The results of this characterization are used to determine the nominal conditions for the device to operate in while in flight to maintain an efficient link with the ground-based transceiver.
We have developed a new approach for rapid die-level hybridization of backside-illuminated silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays to CMOS readout integrated circuits (ROICs). APD arrays are fabricated on a custom silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer engineered with a built-in backside contact and passivation layer. The engineered APD substrate structure facilitates uniform APD substrate removal by selective etching at the die level after bump bonding. The new integration process has the following advantages over wafer-level 3D integration: 1) reduced cost per development cycle since a dedicated full-wafer ROIC fabrication is not needed, 2) compatibility with existing ROICs that are in chip-format from previous fabrication runs, and 3) accelerated schedule. The new approach is applied to produce 32×32 100-μm-pitch silicon GmAPD arrays. Electrical performance of the APD arrays show 100% pixel connectivity and excellent yield before and after substrate removal.
The Photon Counting Camera (PCC) is a single-photon sensitive laser communication camera that will launch on board the NASA PSYCHE spacecraft, part of the Deep-Space Optical Communication (DSOC) technology demonstration mission. The PCC comprises a single-photon sensitive Geiger-mode Avalanche Photo Diode (GmAPD) array connected to an electronics board designed to power, configure, and read out the array. The logic on the electronics board prevents accidental damage to the array, provides health and status information about the array and provides a simple interface to the downstream data processing modules. The array and electronics board are mounted into the chassis, which provides precise alignment between the optics bench and the detector as well as a path to radiate waste heat. We discuss the current design of the camera, including the electronic, thermal, and structural design. We also discuss some of the design challenges and our roadmap to building the flight unit.
Over the past 20 years, we have developed arrays of custom-fabricated silicon and InP Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode arrays, CMOS readout circuits to digitally count or time stamp single-photon detection events, and techniques to integrate these two components to make back-illuminated solid-state image sensors for lidar, optical communications, and passive imaging. Starting with 4 × 4 arrays, we have recently demonstrated 256 × 256 arrays, and are working to scale to megapixel-class imagers. In this paper, we review this progress and discuss key technical challenges to scaling to large format.
This paper will describe recent developments in the state-of-the art for InP/InGaAs Geiger Mode focal plane arrays developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Fabrication details of highly-dense arrays on a 25-micron pitch (256 x 256) will be presented, along with techniques developed to suppress crosstalk in neighboring pixels. These dense arrays are hybrized to highly efficient read-out circuits capable of simultaneous photon-counting imaging and photon time extraction for multiple user-defined regions of interest. Matching 256 x 256 microlens arrays are attached to the hybrized APD array/ROIC. Performance data and applications of the focal plane arrays will be discussed
The past two decades have produced significant advancement in the state-of-the-art for many single-photon technologies. The use of single-photon generation and detection is being pursued over an enormous portion of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from ultraviolet to millimeter wavelengths, and the breadth of applications that rely on these technologies—including fluorescence techniques, quantum information processing, and photon-starved imaging and communications—continues to grow rapidly. The papers in this special section of Optical Engineering provide a snapshot of some of the recent work that has focused on promising new single-photon component technologies and applications.
An asynchronous readout integrated circuit (ROIC) has been developed for hybridization to a 32x32 array of single-photon
sensitive avalanche photodiodes (APDs). The asynchronous ROIC is capable of simultaneous detection and
readout of photon times of arrival, with no array blind time. Each pixel in the array is independently operated by a finite
state machine that actively quenches an APD upon a photon detection event, and re-biases the device into Geiger mode
after a programmable hold-off time. While an individual APD is in hold-off mode, other elements in the array are biased
and available to detect photons. This approach enables high pixel refresh frequency (PRF), making the device suitable
for applications including optical communications and frequency-agile ladar. A built-in electronic shutter that de-biases
the whole array allows the detector to operate in a gated mode or allows for detection to be temporarily disabled. On-chip
data reduction reduces the high bandwidth requirements of simultaneous detection and readout. Additional features
include programmable single-pixel disable, region of interest processing, and programmable output data rates. State-based
on-chip clock gating reduces overall power draw. ROIC operation has been demonstrated with hybridized InP
APDs sensitive to 1.06-μm and 1.55-μm wavelength, and fully packaged focal plane arrays (FPAs) have been assembled
and characterized.
Avalanche Photodiode (APD) photon counting arrays are finding an increasing role in defense applications in laser radar
and optical communications. As these system concepts mature, the need for reliable screening, test, assembly and
packaging of these novel devices has become increasingly critical. MIT Lincoln Laboratory has put significant effort
into the screening, reliability testing, and packaging of these components. To provide rapid test and measurement of the
APD devices under development, several custom parallel measurement and Geiger-mode (Gm) aging systems have been
developed.
Another challenge is the accurate attachment of the microlens arrays with the APD arrays to maximize the photon
detection efficiency. We have developed an active alignment process with single μm precision in all six degrees of freespace
alignment. This is suitable for the alignment of arrays with active areas as small as 5 μm. Finally, we will discuss a
focal plane array (FPA) packaging qualification effort, to verify that single photon counting FPAs can survive in future
airborne systems.
Arrays as large as 256 x 64 of single-photon counting avalanche photodiodes have been developed for defense
applications in free-space communication and laser radar. Focal plane arrays (FPAs) sensitive to both 1.06 and 1.55 μm
wavelength have been fabricated for these applications. At 240 K and 4 V overbias, the dark count rate (DCR) of 15 μm
diameter devices is typically 250 Hz for 1.06 μm sensitive APDs and 1 kHz for 1.55 μm APDs. Photon detection
efficiencies (PDE) at 4 V overbias are about 45% for both types of APDs. Accounting for microlens losses, the full FPA
has a PDE of 30%. The reset time needed for a pixel to avoid afterpulsing at 240 K is about 3-4 μsec. These devices
have been used by system groups at Lincoln Laboratory and other defense contractors for building operational systems.
For these fielded systems the device reliability is a strong concern. Individual APDs as well as full arrays have been run
for over 1000 hrs of accelerated testing to verify their stability. The reliability of these GM-APDs is shown to be under
10 FITs at operating temperatures of 250 K, which also corresponds to an MTTF of 17,100 yrs.
Arrays of photon-counting Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (APDs) sensitive to 1.06 and 1.55 μm wavelengths and as large as 256 x 64 elements on 50 μm pitch have been fabricated for defense applications. As array size, and element density increase, optical crosstalk becomes an increasingly limiting source of spurious counts. We characterize the crosstalk by measurement of emitted light, and by extracting the spatial and temporal focal plane array (FPA) response
to the light from FPA dark count statistics. We discuss the physical and geometrical causes of FPA crosstalk, suggest metrics useful to system designers, then present measured crosstalk metrics for large FPAs as a function of their operating parameters. We then present FPA designs that suppress crosstalk effects and show more than 40 times reduction in crosstalk.
Arrays of InP-based avalanche photodiodes operating at 1.06-μm wavelength in the Geiger mode have been
fabricated in the 128x32 format. The arrays have been hermetically packaged with precision-aligned lenslet arrays,
bump-bonded read-out integrated circuits, and thermoelectric coolers. With the array cooled to -20C and voltage biased
so that optical cross-talk is small, the median photon detection efficiency is 23-25% and the median dark count rate is 2
kHz. With slightly higher voltage overbias, optical cross-talk increases but the photon detection efficiency increases to
almost 30%. These values of photon detection efficiency include the optical coupling losses of the microlens array and
package window.
We have developed and demonstrated a high-duty-cycle asynchronous InGaAsP-based photon counting detector system with near-ideal Poisson response, room-temperature operation, and nanosecond timing resolution for near-infrared applications. The detector is based on an array of Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes coupled to a custom integrated circuit that provides for lossless readout via an asynchronous, nongated architecture. We present results showing Poisson response for incident photon flux rates up to 10 million photons per second and multiple photons per 3-ns timing bin.
Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (APDs) can convert the arrival of a single photon into a digital logic pulse. Arrays of APDs can be directly interfaced to arrays of per-pixel digital electronics fabricated in silicon CMOS, providing the capability to time the arrival of photons in each pixel. These arrays are of interest for "flash" LADAR systems, where multiple target pixels are simultaneously illuminated by the laser during a single laser pulse, and the imaging array is used to measure range to each of the illuminated pixels. Since many laser radar systems use Nd:YAG lasers operating at 1.06 um, we have extended our earlier work with silicon-based APDs by developing arrays of InGaAsP/InP APDs, which are efficient detectors for near-IR radiation. 32x32 pixel arrays, with 100-um pixel pitches, are currently being successfully used in demonstration systems.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory is actively developing laser and detector technologies that make it possible to build a 3D laser radar with several attractive features, including capture of an entire 3D image on a single laser pulse, tens of thousands of pixels, few-centimeter range resolution, and small size, weight, and power requirements. The laser technology is base don diode-pumped solid-state microchip lasers that are passively Q-switched. The detector technology is based on Lincoln-built arrays of avalanche photodiodes operating in the Geiger mode, with integrated timing circuitry for each pixel. The advantage of these technologies is that they offer the potential for small, compact, rugged, high-performance systems which are critical for many applications.
Measurements are reported that demonstrate the first use of a photomixer-transceiver system for terahertz rotational spectroscopy of airborne molecules. The photomixer transmitter and receiver were coupled to free space with twin-slot antennas that were optimized for operation in the 1.1 - 1.7 THz range. Both atmospheric-pressure and low- pressure conditions were investigated.
Two low-temperature-grown GaAs photomixers were used to construct a transmit-and-receive module that is frequency agile over the band 25 GHz to 2 THz, or 6.3 octaves. A photomixer transmitter emits the THz difference frequency of two detuned diode lasers. A photomixer receiver then linearly detects the THz wave by homodyne down conversion. The concept was demonstrated using microwave and submillimeter-wave photomixers. Compared to time-domain photoconductive sampling, the photomixer transceiver offers improved frequency resolution, spectral brightness, system size, and cost.
Two low-temperature-grown GaAs photomixers were used to construct a transmit-and-receive module that is frequency agile over the band 25 GHz to 2 THz, or 6.3 octaves. The photomixer transmitter emits the THz difference frequency of two detuned diode lasers. The photomixer receiver then linearly detects the THz wave by homodyne down conversion. The concept was demonstrated using microwave and quasioptical photomixers. Compared to time-domain photoconductive sampling, the photomixer transceiver offers improved frequency resolution, spectral brightness, system size, and cost.
A three-dimensional metallodielectric photonic crystal (MDPC) that utilizes planar metal scattering elements in a dielectric medium has been studied in the microwave regime, both experimentally and theoretically. The metal elements are circular copper patches defined on thin dielectric sheets, which are alternately stacked with thicker polyethylene sheets to form a (111)-oriented face-centered-cubic lattice. A photonic stop band has been measured from this 'flat-atom' MDPC at 8.2 GHz with a rejection level of 18 dB per lattice period and a width of 50% of the center frequency. The photonic stop band persists over a broad range of angles. Finite-Difference Time-Domain calculations show excellent agreement with measured stop band characteristics, including a similar angular dependence and insensitivity to interplane registration. Variation of the stop-band characteristics with thickness of the dielectric layers has also been explored experimentally. Flat-atom MDPC results are compared with measurements made on 'spherical-atom' MDPC structures.
Low-temperature-grown (LTG) GaAs offers the combination of sub-picosecond photocarrier lifetime and high breakdown electric field (greater than 5 X 105 V/cm), and is grown in epitaxial films having excellent quality for microelectronic fabrication. A THz photoconductive mixer (photomixer) is formed on these films by patterning low- capacitance planar electrodes coupled to a coplanar antenna. The photomixer is conveniently pumped by two frequency-offset diode-laser beams focused on the exposed GaAs area between the electrodes. This paper summarizes the operational principles of the photomixer in contrast to a competing technique based on coherent three-wave photonic mixing. It then reviews different configurations of the photomixer as a laboratory tunable source for chemistry and metrology, and addresses some of the challenges in applying the photomixer as a local oscillator in portable spectroscopic and radiometric receivers.
The development of low-temperature-grown GaAs photomixers enables the construction of a microwave to submillimeter- wave source capable of large frequency sweeps. By utilizing semiconductor diode lasers to drive the photomixer, this source is all solid-state and compact, and has small power consumption. Frequency stabilization of the semiconductor diode lasers allows this source to be phase-locked to an external microwave reference. Two 805 nm extended-cavity- diode lasers are mixed in a low-temperature-grown GaAs photoconductive photomixer. The difference-frequency mixing product is radiated by a planar spiral antenna and collimated by a Si lens. This output is phase-locked to a microwave reference by downconverting it in a whisker- contacted Schottky-barrier diode harmonic mixer and using the output to offset-phase-lock one laser to the other. The photomixer output power is 300 nW at 200 GHz and 10 nW at 1.6 THz, as measured by a 4 K InSb bolometer calibrated with a methanol laser and a power meter at 526 and 812 GHz.
We demonstrate the heterodyne detection of two CO2 laser signals offset in frequency up to 82.16 GHz using a multiple quantum well intersubband infrared photodetector. The high frequency is reached by down conversion using the detector itself as a microwave or millimeter-wave mixer.
Low-temperature-grown, non-stoichiometric GaAs is used as an optical mixer to generate coherent output radiation up to a frequency of 1.2 THz. The mixer structure consists of an epitaxial layer of the LTG GaAs material with submicron interdigitated electrodes fabricated on the top surface. Terahertz photocurrents are generated in the gaps between the electrodes and power is radiated by coupling these currents efficiently into a self-complementary spiral antenna. The experimental roll-off in photomixer output power is explained by two time constants - one for the electron-hole recombination time of 0.35 ps and the other for the photomixer-antenna RC time constant of 0.62 ps. The photomixer demonstrates the capability to generate continuous-wave radiation in a spectral region where tunable coherent radiation has been lacking.
Nominally identical multiple-quantum-well detectors have been fabricated on GaAs and Si substrates, and the performance of these detectors has been compared at a temperature of 77 K and a wavelength of 10.2 micrometers . The two different substrates yield practically identical absorption characteristics, but the detector on the GaAs substrate has an approximately 60% higher specific detectivity because of its higher photoconductive gain and lower dark-current density.
Intersubband absorption spectra in the 10-micrometers region are measured between 4.2 and 290 K in four n-type GaAs/Al0.28Ga0.72As multiple-quantum-well samples. The carriers responsible for the absorption are generated by a cross-gap pump laser operating at 0.75 micrometers . The absorption strength per unit pump power is found to depend strongly on the background electron sheet density (sigma) B, and is greatest by far in a sample having (sigma) B approximately equals 4 X 1010 cm-2. By measuring the speed of response, the cause of the strong photoabsorption is found to be a long photoelectron lifetime. The sample with the strongest photoabsorption is used to make an efficient CO2-laser modulator.
We report the first observation of optically pumped spontaneous emission from intersubband transitions by electrons
in an n-type GaAs/A1GaAs coupled-quantum-well structure. Electrons were pumped from the first to fourth conduction
subbands with a CW CO2 laser operating at a photon energy of 133 meV. The transition from the fourth to the
third subbands occurred at an energy of 17 meV and had a full width at half-maximum of 3 meV.
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