Photodiodes

 A semiconducting diode exposed to radiation.

 Excess carriers due to photons add to the existing charges in the conduction band exactly in the
same fashion as for a pure semiconductor.
 The diode itself may be reverse biased (b), forward biased (a) or unbiased (c) (see figure below)
 Forward-biased mode is not useful as a photosensor
 Number of carriers in conducting mode is large
 Number of carriers added by radiation small
 Sensitivity is very low
 Two modes of operation as a photodiode

1. Photoconductive mode 2. Photovoltaic mode

Diode is in reverse biased (b) Diode is not biased (c)
Operates similarly to a photoconductor Operates as a source (solar cell for example)

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 Photoconductive mode
 In dark mode there are very few carriers flowing (dark current)
 Photons release electrons from the valence band either on the p or n side of the junction.
 These electrons and the resulting holes flow towards the respective polarities (electrons
towards the positive pole, holes towards the negative pole)
 A photocurrent, is established in the diode and constitutes the only current (a small
leakage current exists - see equivalent circuit).
 The inverse bias accelerates the electrons
 If the inverse bias is large, electrons can collide with other electrons and release them
across the band gap,
 This is called an avalanche effect
 It results in the multiplication of the carriers available.
 Sensors that operate in this mode are called photomultiplier sensors.

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Photoconductive mode - equivalent circuit
 It is the total current in the load due to photons plus other sources
 Thermal
 Leakage
 Capacitances, etc.
 I0 is the leakage current through the “dark” resistance R0
 Id is the ideal diode current
 Ic is the current through the junction capacitance
 Rs represents series resistances due to conductors and connections

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 Photoconductive diode - operation
 Current in reverse bias mode is:
 I0 is the leakage current,
 Vd is the voltage across the junction,
 k=8.62x10-5 eV/K (Boltzmann’s const.)
 T is the absolute temperature [K]
 Current due to photons is:
 P is the radiation power density (W/m2)
 f is frequency
 η is called the quantum absorption
efficiency
 A is the exposed area of the diode (ηPA =
power absorbed by the junction)
 h is Planck’s constant
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Photoconductive diode - operation (cont.)
 Total external current is
 I0 is typically small (negligible)
 10 nA or less
 Neglecting I0, the total external
current is
 This current gives a direct reading of the
power absorbed by the diode
 It is not constant since the relation
depends on frequency and the power
absorbed itself is frequency dependent.
 As the input power increases the
characteristic curve of the diode
changes as shown in Fig. 4.7b,
resulting in an increase in reverse
current
 This current represents the sensed
quantity Fig. 4.7b
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 Photodiode - construction
 Any diode can serve as a photodiode if:
 n region, p region or pn junction are exposed to radiation
 Usually, exposure is through a transparent window or a lens
 Sometimes opaque materials are used (for IR, UV sensing)
 Specific structures have been developed to improve one or more of the
characteristics
 The most important improvement is in the dark current
 a - Oxide layer increases resistivity - reduced dark current
 b. - PIN diode
 Addition of the intrinsic p layer increases resistance and reduces dark current
 c. - pnn+ diode - a layer of conducting n+ added
 Reduces resistance
 Improves response to low wavelengths
 d. - Schottky diode (metal-semiconductor junction)
 Improved infrared (long wavelength) response
 Metal layer must be transparent (very thin layer)

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 Photodiodes - construction
 Available in various packages and for various applications
 Individual diodes in cans with lenses
 Surface mount diodes used in infrared remote controls
 Arrays (linear) of various sizes for scanners
 Infrared and UV diodes for sensing and control

Photodiode in CD player Linear photodiode array (512

photodiodes) used in a scanner

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 Photovoltaic diodes
 The diode is not biased
 Serves as a generator – can be used to sense
 Carriers generated by radiation create a potential difference
across the junction
 Any photodiode can operate in this mode
 Solar cells are especially large-surface photodiodes

 Equivalent circuit of the photodiode in photovoltaic

mode:
 Capacitance is usually large
 Leakage current is small
 Response of solar cells is slow due to very large capacitance
 The various currents are defined as for the diode in photoconductive
mode
 Usually, I0 and Ic are larger than in photoconductive mode.

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 The phototransistor
 Two junctions (a)
 One forward, one reverse biased (c, d)
 With the bias shown in (d), the upper diode (the collector-base junction) is reverse
biased while the lower (base-emitter) junction is forward biased.
 In a regular transistor, a current IB is injected into the base and is amplified by the
amplification factor of the transistor
 In a phototransistor, the base current is generated internally by photons

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 The phototransistor
 In a regular transistor:
 β = amplification
 Ib = base current
 IC = collector current
 Emitter current IE is:
 In a phototransistor, the base is eliminated. A dark
current exists:
 I0 = leakage current
 When the junction is illuminated:
 Collector current IC:
 Emitter current IE:
 (leakage current is neglected)
 Operation of the phototransistor is identical to that of
the photodiode except for the amplification β provided
by the transistor structure.
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 Phototransistor (cont.)
 β for even the simplest transistors is of the order of 100 (and can be much higher),
 Amplification is linear in most of the operation range
 The phototransistor is a very useful device and is commonly used for detection and sensing
 The high amplification allows phototransistors to operate at low illumination levels
 They are typically much smaller than photodiodes.
 Thermal noise can be a bigger problem
 Response is faster than for diodes (size)
 In many cases, a simple lens is also provided to concentrate the light on the junction, which for
transistors is very small.

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 Example
The data for a phototransistor is evaluated experimentally and given in a table:

Calculate the sensitivity of the phototransistor to light

The plot of the current versus light power density shows it is linear between 2 µW/cm2 and 152 µW/cm2.
Sensitivity is therefore the slope of this line:

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 Photoelectric sensors, Photomultipliers
 Based on the photoelectric effect
 Metal electrodes
 Some of the oldest optical sensors
 Uses:
 Presence detection, counting, and security
 Sensing very weak sources, night vision (photomultipliers)
 Sometimes called photoelectric cells
 Made of a photo-cathode, photo-anode in an evacuated tube
 Photo-cathode - made of a low-work function material (usually alkali coated)
 Electrons are accelerated towards the photo-anode
 Current through the device is a measure of radiation intensity
 “Light” represents radiation
 The voltage is usually a few hundred volts
 The photo-anode and photo-cathode are usually shaped for the best performance

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 The photoelectric sensor
 The number of emitted electrons per photon is the quantum efficiency of the sensor or Gain
(or sensitivity) and depends to a large extent on the material used for the photo-cathode (its
work function). The typical gain is about 10
 Photo-cathodes are made of the alkali group and their alloys
 Caesium-based materials are the most common:
 Low work function
 Spectral response from IR (1000nm) to UV
 Evacuated tube or argon filled (to increase electron production)
 Older devices used metal cathodes, coated with alkali compounds (Lithium, Potassium, Sodium, Cesium or
a combination of these)
 Newer photoelectric sensors:
 NEA (negative electron affinity) surfaces
 Constructed by evaporation of Caesium or Caesium oxide onto a semiconductor’s surface
 Operate the same as the older devices but have lower work functions and require lower anode voltages

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 Photomultipliers
 A development of photoelectric sensors
 The output (the number of electrons) is multiplied by a large factor
 Has a photocathode and a photo-anode
 Additional intermediate cathodes, called dynodes are added between the photocathode and
photo-anode (a)
 Cathode and dynodes are made of low-work function materials such as
Beryllium-Copper (BeCu)
 Dynodes are at increasing potential
 Creates potential difference to previous dynode (b)
 Accelerates the electrons towards the next dynode
 Cathode:
 Each photon releases n electrons
 Electrons are accelerated towards 1st dynode
 Dynodes:
 Each incoming electron releases n electrons
 Electrons are then accelerated towards the next dynode
 Number of dynodes can be large (10 or more)
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 Photomultipliers - Gain
 Multiplication:
 Given k dynodes:
 Each dynode releases n secondary electrons:
 Gain of the photomultiplier (G) is G = nk

 Net effect: a very low light intensity can generate a very large current
 Gain can exceed 106.
 Gain depends on:
 Construction:
 Number of dynodes:
 Inter-dynode voltages:
 Additional considerations:
 electrons must be “forced” to transit between electrodes at about the same time to avoid distortions in
the signal.
 To do so, the dynodes are often shaped as curved surfaces which also guides the electrons towards the
next dynode
 Grids and slats are added – to decrease transit time and improve the quality of the signal, (for imaging
applications)
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 Photomultipliers - noise
 Thermal noise:
 Noise is critical because of the multiplying effect
 Dark current I0 due to thermal emission is both potential and temperature dependent

a is a constant depending on cathode materials

A is a universal constant equal to 120.173 A/cm2
T is the absolute temperature
E0 is the work function of the cathode
k is the Boltzmann constant

 Other sources of noise:

 shot noise: due to fluctuations of the current of discrete electrons
 Multiplication noise due to the statistical spread of electrons
 Susceptibility to magnetic fields. Since magnetic fields apply a force on moving electrons, they can
force electrons out of their normal paths reducing their gain and distorting the signal in imaging
applications (shielding is often necessary).

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 Photomultipliers - applications
 Used for very low light applications such as in night vision systems.
 Photomultiplier sensors are placed at the focal point of telescopes to view
extremely faint objects in space.
 Photomultipliers are part of a broader class of devices called image
intensifiers which use various methods (including electrostatic and
magnetic lenses) to increase the current.
 Have been largely replaced by CCD devices

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 CCD sensors and detectors
 CCD - Coupled Charge Device
 Very common in optical devices
 Cameras
 Video cameras
 Have many of the properties of photomultipliers - but simpler, cheaper and usually,
higher quality images
 Low voltage, low radiation intensity
 Color images, semiconductor construction
 Very small and fully integrable devices
 Small size – some a mere few mm2
 High resolution: millions of pixels
 High sensitivity for low light sensing
 Linear and rectangular arrays

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 CCD - structure
 Made on a conducting substrate
 p-type or n-type semiconductor layer is deposited on top.
 Above it a thin insulating layer made of Silicon Oxide
 A transparent conducting layer above the SiO2 (gate):
 Allows penetration of photons
 Can be set at a desired potential with respect to the substrate
 This structure is called a Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS)
 The gate and the substrate form a capacitor.
 Gate is biased positively with respect to the substrate. A depletion
region in the semiconductor makes this device a very high-
resistance device.
 Optical radiation impinges on the device,
penetrates through the gate and oxide layer to
release electrons into the depletion layer
 Charge density is proportional to radiation
intensity. These are attracted to the gate but
cannot flow through the oxide layer and are
trapped there.
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 CCD operation (cont.)
 To measure this charge:
 Reverse bias the MOS device to discharge the electrons through a resistor
 The current through the resistor is a direct measure of light intensity

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 CCD - method of sensing charge
 Linear array of CCDs (a)
 Charge represents the image (top)
 Charge moved to the right in “leapfrog” fashion (middle)
 The current in the resistor represents the charge and hence the
image (bottom)

 Two-dimensional array of CCDs (b)

 All rows are shifted down one position
 Current row scanned is in a separate
shift register
 The shift register is shifted right to
obtain the signal for the current row
 The process is repeated until the whole
image has been scanned (N1 x N2
steps)

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 CCD - 2-D arrays
 Multiple rows in the two-dimensional array.
 A new image is obtained at the end of each scan.
 Signal obtained is typically amplified and digitized and used to produce
the image
 Image can then be displayed on a display array such as a TV screen or
a liquid crystal display.
 There are many variation of this basic process:
 To sense color, filters may be used to separate colors into their basic components
(RGB – Red-Green-Blue).
 Each color is sensed separately and forms part of the signal. Thus, a color CCD will
contain three (or four) cells per “pixel” each reacting to one color.

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 CCD - applications
 CCD devices are the core of most types of
electronic cameras and video recorders
 Also used in scanners (where linear arrays are
used).
 Used for very low light application by cooling the
CCDs to low temperatures.
 Sensitivity is much higher than in photomultipliers,
primarily due to reduced thermal noise.
 In this mode CCD have successfully displaced
photomultipliers.

Compact camera sensor (8 MB)

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