PIN Photodiode

1 OBJECTIVE
Investigate the characteristics of PIN Photodiodes and understand the usage of the Lightwave Analyzer
component.

2 PRE-LAB
In a similar way photons can be generated in a semiconductor, they can be detected by one. Instead of
stimulated emission, stimulated absorption is the process of interest. As long as the incident photons
have similar energies to the band-gap of the semiconductor, efficient conversion into carriers is possible.
In a simple p-i-n photodetector, two regions of heavily doped semiconductor are separated by an
undoped intrinsic semiconductor. This creates a large depletion region with a voltage difference across
it. When photons excite electrons into a higher conduction band, the voltage imparts a drift velocity on
the electron and it moves towards the n-doped side creating a current.

Figure 1: Structure of a PIN photodetector.

2.1 EFFICIENCY AND BANDWIDTH

The ratio of input optical power to current produced is called, 𝑅𝐷 , the responsivity.

𝐼𝑝 = 𝑅𝐷 𝑃𝑖𝑛 . (1)

The responsivity can be broken down further in terms of the ratio of generated electrons to incident
photons by the quantum efficiency, 𝜂:
ℎ𝑓𝜂
𝑅𝐷 = , (2)
𝑞

where hf is the energy of the incident photons and q is the electron charge. A simple model can be made
for the quantum efficiency. It relates the loss, 𝛼, and length, L, of the absorbing material to the absorbed
power and thus efficiency.

𝜂 = 1 − 𝑒 −𝛼𝐿 . (3)

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Once the electron-hole pairs are created somewhere in the middle region, they still have to make it to
one of the doped regions, where they can enter an electrical circuit. This time along with the
capacitance of the electrical circuit creates a finite rise time and as a result a limited bandwidth. The rise
time, or time it takes a circuit to rise from 10% to 90% of its final value is given by:

𝑇𝑟 = 𝑙𝑛 9 (𝜏𝑡𝑟 + 𝜏𝑅𝐶 ), (4)

where τ𝑡𝑟 is the transit time of the electron and τ𝑅𝐶 is the time constant of the equivalent electrical
circuit. The bandwidth of the circuit can be defined in the same manner as a simple RC circuit.
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𝛥𝑓 = 2𝜋(𝜏 . (5)
𝑡𝑟 +𝜏𝑅𝐶 )

Questions:

2.1.1 An InGaAs based photodetector centered at 1.55 μm is 2.5 μm in length and has a
responsivity of 0.85 A/W. Determine the quantum efficiency and loss per cm.

2.1.2 Calculate the drift velocity and bandwidth of the above photodetector if it is assumed a
majority of electrons are created in the center. Assume an RC time constant of 1 ps and
a rise time of 20 ps.

2.2 NOISE
Noise added to a signal in a photodetector can be categorized into two types: shot noise and thermal
noise. Shot noise is generated by the quantum nature of photons and electrons, whereby the random
generation of electrons with respect to time can change the instantaneous current. Thermal noise is a
much simpler concept to understand and is attributed to the random movement of electrons at a finite
temperature. Using ∆𝑓, as the effective noise bandwidth, they can both be expressed by:

𝜎𝑠2 = 2𝑞(𝐼𝑝 + 𝐼𝑑 )∆𝑓, (6)

𝜎𝑇2 = (4𝑘𝐵 𝑇/𝑅𝐿 )∆𝑓. (7)

𝜎𝑠 = RMS value of shot noise Id = dark current 𝑘𝐵 = Boltzmann constant

𝜎𝑇 = RMS value of thermal noise T = absolute temperature 𝑅𝐿 = load resistance

𝐼𝑝 = average current

The dark current is the current detected when there is no signal, it is attributed to unwanted light
leaking into the detector or thermally created carriers and fortunately it is quite small. The signal to
noise ratio, expressed often in dB is a very useful quantity that relates the signal’s power to the noise
power.

𝑆𝑁𝑅 = 𝐼𝑝2 /(𝜎𝑠2 + 𝜎𝑇2 ). (8)

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Questions:

2.2.1 A photodetector has an effective bandwidth of 15 GHz and a dark current of 8 nA. For a
an incident optical signal that produces 10 μA of current what is the associated shot
noise root mean square value?

2.2.2 For the same photodetector above connected to a 45 Ω resistor at a temperature of 21

degrees Celsius, calculate the root mean square value for the thermal noise.

2.2.3 Now calculate the SNR of the photodetector.

3 RESPONSIVITY AND BANDWIDTH SIMULATION

The responsivity relates the incident optical power to the current generated. Naturally, a larger
responsivity is desired. The bandwidth of a detector is also an important quantity, which determines the
maximum a bit rate that can be detected. These quantities could be found from creating a parameter
sweep, as was the focus of the laser simulation. However, using the built-in Lightwave Analyzer
component can save a lot of time.

3.1 OPTISYSTEM PROJECT FILE

The setup is very simple for this simulation place the two components below in a similar manner to the
screenshot:

 Lightwave Analyzer Test Sets

 PIN Photodiode Receivers Library/Photodetectors

Figure 2: Layout using the Lightwave Analyzer.

Before the output of the PIN Photodiode can be attached to the input of the Lightwave Analyzer the
Test configuration parameter has to be changed to “Optical-electrical”, since the photodiode output is
electrical.

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 Figure 3: Lightwave Analyzer component properties.

The Lightwave Analyzer serves as a quick way to investigate the frequency response and also the
conversion efficiency of a device, in this case the responsivity of the photodetector. The frequency
response is found, by creating multiple sine waves signals at linearly spaced frequencies and monitoring
the output.

On the Analysis tab, the frequencies swept can be viewed and the number of steps can be changed.
Change the starting frequency to 0.1 GHz. Setting the starting frequency too low can result in an
unrealistic frequency response, as the signal can lack the frequency resolution to accurately represent
the slowly varying signal.

Figure 4: Setting parameters on the Analysis tab.

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The default number of steps is linked to the global parameter “Iterations”, which can be changed from
the layout parameters. Change the number of iterations to 20 by modifying the layout parameters.

Figure 5: Layout parameters window.

Include a realistic frequency response by changing the transfer function model of the PIN Photodiode
from Ideal to Defined.

Figure 6: PIN Photodiode properties window.

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All that remains is to run the simulation. Once the simulation is complete expand the Project Browser in
the bottom left and open the Transmission response graph.

Figure 7: Finding the Transmission response graph in the Project Browser.

From the transmission response the 3 dB bandwidth is easily identifiable. Right-click the graph to
interact with the curve and place markers to determine the 3 dB bandwidth accurately.

Figure 8: Frequency response of the PIN photodiode.

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With a few changes the same component can be used to determine the responsivity of the PIN
photodetector. First change the analysis type of the Lightwave Analyzer to “Conversion”.

Figure 9: Changing the operation of the Lightwave Analyzer.

Instead of sending multiple frequency signals, multiple DC signals of varying magnitude are probed into
the PIN photodiode. Then running the simulation and viewing the Slope Responsivity graph gives:

Figure 10: Plotting the conversion efficiency.

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Again right-clicking the graph and interacting with the curve allows the user to calculate the responsivity
accurately. In this case the slope of the graph is of interest so choose two points and then calculate the
slope. In this simple case it comes to ~ 1A/W.

3.2 CHARACTERIZATION OF PIN PHOTODIODES

Using the outlined procedure investigate the 3dB-bandwidth and responsivity of two PIN Photodiodes
with the following parameters, both at the default optical frequency of 193.1 THz.

InGaAs Photodiode Ge Photodiode

Responsivity type InGaAs Responsivity type Ge
Transfer function type RC Limited Transfer function type RC Limited
Thermal Noise calculation Defined Thermal Noise calculation Calculated
Load resistance 50 Ω Load resistance 20 Ω
Junction capacitance 2 pF Junction capacitance 1 pF

Keep all other parameters as their default for the PIN Photodiode component and when simulating the
frequency response keep the responsivity type at a constant 1 A/W.

Figure 11: Calculating the bandwidth from the rise and fall time.

Finally using a setup similar to the Figure 11 find the rise time of both of the PIN Photodiodes and
compare it to the bandwidth calculated. To make it easier, try using the dual port oscilloscope visualizer
to plot an ideal rectangular pulse versus the detected signal. The amplitude and rise time of the NRZ
Pulse Generator need to be changed from their default values. Do not forget to set the rise and fall time
to 0 s in the Optical Transmitter.

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Questions:

3.2.1 What are the bandwidth and responsivity of the InGaAs Photodiode?

3.2.2 What are the bandwidth and responsivity of the Ge Photodiode?

3.2.3 Compare the responsivity of the two photodiodes and the semiconductors respective
band gap energies. Explain the differences.

3.2.4 Determine the rise times of both photodiodes. Calculate the bandwidth again from this
value.

4 REPORT
In your lab report include the following:

 Brief overview of the background and theory.

 Answers to all pre lab questions, clearly showing your work.
 Brief description of the simulation method and setup, including screenshots.
 Final results including figures and discussion.

5 REFERENCES
[1] Agrawal, G. P. Fiber-optic Communication Systems. New York: Wiley, 1997. Print.

[2] Saleh, Bahaa E. A., and Malvin Carl. Teich. Fundamentals of Photonics. New York: Wiley, 1991.
Print.