Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>

This article presents a multi-dot PIN photodiode structure that addresses the inherent trade-off between the light-sensitive area and capacitance in conventional planar photodiodes commonly used in optical communication systems. This structure is a combination of several connected cathode dots and w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: S. S. Kohneh Poushi, B. Goll, K. Schneider-Hornstein, Horst Zimmermann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2024-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10336890/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849707794565955584
author S. S. Kohneh Poushi
B. Goll
K. Schneider-Hornstein
Horst Zimmermann
author_facet S. S. Kohneh Poushi
B. Goll
K. Schneider-Hornstein
Horst Zimmermann
author_sort S. S. Kohneh Poushi
collection DOAJ
description This article presents a multi-dot PIN photodiode structure that addresses the inherent trade-off between the light-sensitive area and capacitance in conventional planar photodiodes commonly used in optical communication systems. This structure is a combination of several connected cathode dots and with a shared anode. The radial distribution of the electric field surrounding each cathode dot facilitates both vertical and peripheral charge collection, and accordingly, enables the region beneath and between the dots to function as a light-sensitive area with fast carrier drift. The key innovation of this work lies in the flexibility of the multi-dot structure for easy enlargement of the light-sensitive area by expanding the dot array, while still maintaining a small capacitance. Experimental results show that a 5 &#x00D7; 5 multi-dot PIN photodiode with a pitch of 20 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m corresponding to an active area of 100 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m &#x00D7; 100 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m achieves a capacitance of 48.8 fF, a responsivity of 0.294 A/W at a wavelength of 675 nm, and a bandwidth of 660 MHz at an operating voltage of 10 V. With a pitch of 15 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m that provides a light-sensitive area of 70 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m &#x00D7; 70 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m, the bandwidth increases to 930 MHz.
format Article
id doaj-art-59458ff3b9864fa080c73ce03263e6bb
institution DOAJ
issn 1943-0655
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Photonics Journal
spelling doaj-art-59458ff3b9864fa080c73ce03263e6bb2025-08-20T03:15:50ZengIEEEIEEE Photonics Journal1943-06552024-01-011611610.1109/JPHOT.2023.333851010336890Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>S. S. Kohneh Poushi0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4658-2774B. Goll1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2174-8491K. Schneider-Hornstein2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7669-2192Horst Zimmermann3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3221-0769EMCE, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, AustriaEMCE, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, AustriaEMCE, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, AustriaEMCE, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, AustriaThis article presents a multi-dot PIN photodiode structure that addresses the inherent trade-off between the light-sensitive area and capacitance in conventional planar photodiodes commonly used in optical communication systems. This structure is a combination of several connected cathode dots and with a shared anode. The radial distribution of the electric field surrounding each cathode dot facilitates both vertical and peripheral charge collection, and accordingly, enables the region beneath and between the dots to function as a light-sensitive area with fast carrier drift. The key innovation of this work lies in the flexibility of the multi-dot structure for easy enlargement of the light-sensitive area by expanding the dot array, while still maintaining a small capacitance. Experimental results show that a 5 &#x00D7; 5 multi-dot PIN photodiode with a pitch of 20 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m corresponding to an active area of 100 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m &#x00D7; 100 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m achieves a capacitance of 48.8 fF, a responsivity of 0.294 A/W at a wavelength of 675 nm, and a bandwidth of 660 MHz at an operating voltage of 10 V. With a pitch of 15 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m that provides a light-sensitive area of 70 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m &#x00D7; 70 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m, the bandwidth increases to 930 MHz.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10336890/CMOSmulti-dots photodiodeslight-sensitive arealow capacitancePIN photodiodesperipheral charge collection
spellingShingle S. S. Kohneh Poushi
B. Goll
K. Schneider-Hornstein
Horst Zimmermann
Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>
IEEE Photonics Journal
CMOS
multi-dots photodiodes
light-sensitive area
low capacitance
PIN photodiodes
peripheral charge collection
title Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>
title_full Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>
title_fullStr Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>
title_full_unstemmed Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>
title_short Large Active Area, Low Capacitance Multi-Dot PIN Photodiode in 0.35 m CMOS Technology<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"/></inline-formula>
title_sort large active area low capacitance multi dot pin photodiode in 0 35 m cmos technology inline formula tex math notation latex inline formula
topic CMOS
multi-dots photodiodes
light-sensitive area
low capacitance
PIN photodiodes
peripheral charge collection
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10336890/
work_keys_str_mv AT sskohnehpoushi largeactivearealowcapacitancemultidotpinphotodiodein035mcmostechnologyinlineformulatexmathnotationlatexinlineformula
AT bgoll largeactivearealowcapacitancemultidotpinphotodiodein035mcmostechnologyinlineformulatexmathnotationlatexinlineformula
AT kschneiderhornstein largeactivearealowcapacitancemultidotpinphotodiodein035mcmostechnologyinlineformulatexmathnotationlatexinlineformula
AT horstzimmermann largeactivearealowcapacitancemultidotpinphotodiodein035mcmostechnologyinlineformulatexmathnotationlatexinlineformula