Electron injection avalanche photodiodes in SWIR to LWIR HgCdTe show gain and excess noise properties indicative of a single ionizing carrier gain process. The result is an electron avalanche photodiode (EAPD) with "ideal" APD characteristics including near noiseless gain. This paper reports results obtained on mid-wave, short-wave, and long-wave cutoff infrared Hgi_xCdxTe EAPDs that utilize a cylindrical "p-around-n", front side illuminated, n+/n-/p geometry that favors electron injection into the gain region, Figure 1. These devices are characterized by a uniform, exponential, gain voltage characteristic that is consistent with a hole-to-electron ionization coefficient ratio, k=α{sub}h/α{sub}e, of zero.
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