CMOS-compatible self-quenched active recovery (SQUARE) single-photon detector

Current CMOS single-photon detectors operating in Geiger mode use passive quenching, yielding slow recovery due to the RC delay. Active quenching of CMOS photon detectors operating in the Geiger mode requires external quenching circuitry that occupies a large area, reducing the fill factor and spatial resolution. Here, we demonstrate a self-quenched active recovery (SQUARE) single-photon detector having its recovery accelerated by a secondary carrier multiplication process. The device consists of two gain regions, one giving rise to the photon response and the other quenching the device and amplifying the residual current for a speedy self-recovery. The first gain region is a crystalline silicon p/n junction fabricated through a commercial CMOS process, and the second gain region is a carbon-doped amorphous silicon layer deposited on the top metal layer of a completed CMOS wafer. The SQUARE single-photon detector shows a Geiger-mode gain greater than 100 000 and achieved <30 ns self-recovery time, much faster than self-quenched and passively quenched single-photon avalanche photodiodes reported to date.