Light detectors

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13.2

Light detectors

Let me start with the conceptually simplest method of light detection, photoconduction. As described before, photons incident upon a piece of
semiconductor may generate extra carriers (the densify of generated carriers is usually proportional to the input light). For a given applied voltage, this increise in mobile carrier density leatls to an increase of current, which can be easily measured. This is how the CdS cells that are used extensively in exposure meters and in automatic shuttering devices in cameras work. The advantage of using such photoconductors is that they are cheap because they are easy to construct and can be made from polycrystalline material. On the other hand, they are relatively slow and require an extemal voltage source. Next, we shall consider a 5n junction. We choose reverse bias becausc for sensitive detection we require a large fractional change it is very noticeable if one microamp current doubles, but it is quite difficult to see a one microamp change in one milliamp. If photons of the right '"r'avelength shine on the p-sidc. they create electrons that are minoriti'carriers. and these uill be driv'en across the reverse bias junction. This is the basis of a sensitive photodetector that is made by producing a shallor.v laver of p-t-vpe material on an n-tvpe substrate. so that the junction is very close to the illuminated surface (Fig. I 3. I ). The photodetection properties of p-n junctions may be improved by turning them into 5i-n junctions. that is b;'' adding iln cxtra intrinsic layer. as shorvn in Fig. 13,2. Since the number of carriers in the intrinsic layer is small. u'e need only a small reverse bias (a f'en'r'olts) to cxtend the depletion region all the way through the i region. A largc depletion region gives a large volume in which carriers can be use-fuli;" eenerated in a background of small carrier concentration. In practice the reverse bias is maintained at a value considerably higher than the minimum. so that thc intrinsic region remains depleted of carriers, even under high iliuminatior.r. A tvpical p i n diode u'ould withstand 100 V reverse bias and rvould have a current ofabout 2 nA at a voltage of-20 V
at a temperature of 25'C.

Fig. 13.1
The p-njunction as a light detector.

The response time of

pi-n

detectors is related to the transit tirne of the

carriers across the intrinsic region. In a high field this is small, therefore p-i-n detectors are fast; fast enough. in fact. to be used in optical communications
systems.

A further possibilir-v is to

use a metal-semiconductor junction [as shown in

Fig. 13.2
A

Fig. 9. I 6(b)] for the detection ofcarriers. There is then again a depletion region in which the carriers can be generated and rvhich are driven through an external resistance by an applied voltage. Its main advantage is that it can work in the blue and near-ultraviolet region. since the metallic laver (usually gold) can be made thin enough to be transparent. We can now ask the following question: can we improve the effrciency of the detection method by amplil_ving the photocurrent? The answer is ves. I shall mention lwo variants, the avalanche photodiode and the phototransistor. In the avalanche photodiode the reverse bias is so high that the generated carriers traversing the depletion region have sut}icient energy to create further carriers by impact ionization; the additional carriers create ever more carriers by the same mechanism, leading to an avalanche, as discussed in Section 9.12.2.

5i-n

junction used as a light

detector.