Fully ion-implanted <i>p</i>+-<i>n</i> germanium avalanche photodiodes

Abstract

Germanium avalanche photodiodes with a shallow p+-n junction have been fabricated using full ion implantation, together with a low temperature (650 °C), single-stage annealing process. This procedure yielded high-performance germanium avalanche photodiodes with a high rate of reproducibility. About 80% of the diodes obtained showed a dark current of 150–250 nA at 0.9 VB. At a multiplication factor of 10, low excess noise resulted (F≊6.5 at 1.55 mm and F = 8–9 at 1.3 mm), and deterioration of the response at 500 MHz was limited to 0.5–1 dB.