Design of a Low Noise Avalanche Photodiode with Integrated Dark Pixel

This paper proposes a novel structure for the silicon avalanche photodiode. The structure uses an integrated dark pixel to offset the dark current of the avalanche photo diode, effectively reducing the output noise. The device structure is simulated by software to extract the relevant electrical and optical properties. The results show that the breakdown voltage of the avalanche photodiode is 33.6 V at 300 K, the breakdown current is less than <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$1\times 10^{-10}\mathrm{A}$</tex>, and the output current values under light and dark conditions at different temperatures differ by at least 5 orders of magnitude. Under 0 V bias voltage, the device exhibits the highest quantum efficiency of 35%, and it has a high response in the wavelength range of 400 ~ 800 nm, with a peak responsivity of 0.14 A/W at 540 nm. In addition, under 6.4V overbias, the avalanche probability in the light-receiving region is the same as that within the integrated dark pixel, the maximum avalanche breakdown probability reaches 83 %, and the peak electric field is about 4.6×105 V/cm.