Development of InGaAs/AlGaAsSb Geiger Mode Avalanche Photodiodes

Near-infrared linear mode Al 0.85 Ga 0.15 As 0.56 Sb 0.44 avalanche photodiodes (APDs) exhibit excellent temperature stability, potentially simplifying Geiger mode operation. We have carried out the first experimental evaluation of In0.53Ga0.47As/Al 0.85Ga0.15As0.56Sb0.44 APDs in Geiger mode. Characterization on multiple devices included temperature-dependent dark current, avalanche multiplication, dark count rate (DCR), afterpulsing, and single photon detection efficiency (SPDE). The temperature coefficient of breakdown voltage extracted from avalanche multiplication data was 13.5 mV & sdot;K-1 , much lower than InGaAs/InP Geiger mode APDs, reducing changes in operation voltage and offering possible protection from high optical power thermal attack in communication systems. At 200 K, SPDE were 5%-16% with DCR of 1-20 Mc & sdot;s(-1) , comparable to InAlAs and early InP-based Single Photon APDs. The afterpulsing at 200 K was negligible for hold-off time > 50 mu s (reducing to 5 mu s at 250 K). These are similar to the performance of InGaAs/InAlAs and some InGaAs/InP Geiger mode APDs. The data reported in this article is available from the ORDA digital repository.