UESTC 3002: Electronic

Devices

Dr. Amir Parnianifard

University of Glasgow UESTC

Lecture 10
 In This Lecture

Optoelectronic Devices
(Photodiodes)

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Definition

• Optoelectronic: functions involving the interaction of photons with

semiconductors.
• Optoelectronics Devices: devices that detect photons and those that emit
photons.

• Photoconductors: are devices or

materials that exhibit photoconductivity.
Photoconductivity refers to the change in
electrical conductivity of a material when
exposed to light.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Types of Optoelectronic Devices

There is a wide variety of very interesting and
useful device functions involving the interaction of
photons with semiconductors:

• Devices that convert optical energy into

electrical energy include photodiodes and solar
cells.
• Emitters of photons include incoherent sources
such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and
coherent sources in the form of lasers.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Photodiodes

• Photodiodes: Two-terminal devices designed to respond to

photon absorption.
• Some photodiodes have extremely high sensitivity and response
speed.

• Since modern electronics often

involves optical as well as electrical
signals, photodiodes serve important
functions as electronic devices.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Energy Band Diagram

Unbiased Photodiode:
• In the absence of external bias
voltage, a photodiode typically has a
built-in potential due to the difference
in energy levels between the p-type
and n-type semiconductor materials.
Incident Light:
• When photons from incident light
strike the photodiode, they may be
absorbed by the semiconductor
material.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Energy Band Diagram

Electron-Hole Pair Generation:

• If the energy of a photon is greater
than the bandgap energy of the
semiconductor material, it can
generate an electron-hole pair.
• Electrons move to the n-type region,
and holes move to the p-type
region.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

External Bias Applied

Under Reverse Bias:
• If an external voltage is applied in reverse bias (negative voltage applied to the p-
type and positive voltage applied to the n-type), it increases the width of the
depletion region.
• This reverse bias helps to sweep the generated
electrons and holes away from the junction,
reducing the recombination of charge carriers.
Current Flow:
• The electrons and holes, separated by the electric
field in the depletion region, contribute to the
photocurrent. 9
 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Current and Voltage in an Illuminated Junction

The resulting current due to the

collection of optically generated carriers
by the junction is

𝐼𝑜𝑝 = 𝑞𝐴𝑔𝑜𝑝 𝐿𝑝 + 𝐿𝑛 + 𝑊

𝑔𝑜𝑝 : the optical generation rate (𝐸𝐻𝑃Τ𝑐𝑚3 −𝑠)

𝐴 : the cross-sectional area of the junction.
𝑞 : the elementary charge 1.6 × 10−19 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠.
𝐿𝑝 : the diffusion length for holes.
𝐿𝑛 : the diffusion length for electrons.
Optical generation of carriers in a p-n junction: (a) absorption of
𝑊 : the width of the depletion region. light by the device; (b) current 𝐼𝑜𝑝 resulting from EHP
generation within a diffusion length of the junction on the n side;
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Consider a photodetector with the following parameters:
• Cross-sectional area of the junction: 2 cm2
• Diffusion length for holes: 4 μm
• Diffusion length for electrons: 4 μm
• Width of the depletion region: 1 μm

➢ Calculate the current generated optically, given a generation rate of electron-hole

pairs of 8 × 1019 EHP/cm3-s.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Total Reverse Current with Illumination

If we call the thermally generated current (𝐼𝑡ℎ ), we can add the optical
generation (𝐼𝑜𝑝 ) to find the total reverse current with illumination:

𝐼 = 𝐼𝑡ℎ 𝑒 𝑞𝑉Τ𝑘𝑇 − 1 − 𝐼𝑜𝑝

where
𝑉 is the applied voltage.
𝑘 is Boltzmann's constant (1.38 × 10 − 23 𝐽/𝐾).
𝑇 is the temperature in Kelvin

This equation can be considered in two parts—the current described by the

usual diode equation and the current due to optical generation.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Current-Voltage (I-V) Curve

The I–V curve is lowered by an

amount proportional to the
generation rate.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Short Circuit Current

• Short Circuit: when the device is short

circuited (𝑉 = 0), the diode terms from the
equation of total reverse current illumination
cancel, as expected.

𝐼 = 𝐼𝑡ℎ 𝑒 𝑞𝑉Τ𝑘𝑇 − 1 − 𝐼𝑜𝑝

• However, there is a short-circuit current:

𝐼 = −𝐼𝑜𝑝 .
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Open Circuit Voltage

• Open Circuit: when there is an open circuit across the device, 𝐼 =

0 and the voltage 𝑉 = 𝑉𝑜𝑐 is

𝑘𝑇 𝐼𝑜𝑝
𝑉𝑜𝑐 = ln +1
𝑞 𝐼𝑡ℎ

Where
𝐼𝑜𝑝 is the optically generated current
𝐼𝑡ℎ is thermally generated current
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Consider a photodetector with the following parameters:
• Cross-sectional area of the junction: 2 cm2
• Diffusion length for holes: 4 μm
• Diffusion length for electrons: 4 μm
• Width of the depletion region: 1 μm
• A generation rate of electron-hole pairs of 8 × 1019 EHP/cm3-s.
• The absolute temperature (T): 300 K

➢ An open circuit is established across this device. Determine the corresponding

open-circuit voltage, considering that the thermally generated current is 15 nA.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

I–V characteristic

• Depending on the intended

application, the photodiode
can be operated in either
the third or fourth quarters
of its I–V characteristic.
• In (a) and (b), power is
delivered to the device by
the external circuit;
• In (c) the device delivers
power to the load.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Photodetectors
• When the photodiode is operated in the third quadrant of its I–V characteristic,
the current is essentially independent of voltage but is proportional to the
optical generation rate.
• In most optical detection applications, the detector’s speed of response is
critical.
• The appropriate width for width of the depletion
(W) is chosen as a compromise between
sensitivity and speed of response.
• One convenient method of controlling the width of
the depletion region is to build a p-i-n
photodetector.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Types of Photodiodes (1/3)

❑ Photodiodes come in various types and configurations, each designed for
specific applications based on factors such as sensitivity and speed of
response. Three common types of photodiodes are as follows:
1- PN Photodiode
▪ The most basic type of photodiode, consisting of a p-n junction.
▪ It operates in reverse bias mode to generate photocurrent when
exposed to light.
▪ They are versatile and used in many general-purpose applications.
 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Types of Photodiodes (1/3)

2- PIN Photodiode
▪ PIN (p-type, intrinsic, n-type) photodiodes have an intrinsic (i) layer
between the p and n layers.
▪ PIN diodes have low dark current means very low electric current flows
through the diode when no photons enter the diode.
▪ They are capable of detecting light over a broader wavelength range.

▪ PIN photodiodes are often used as

photoreactor in high-speed and
low-noise applications.
 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Types of Photodiodes (1/3)

3- Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

▪ APDs are designed for extremely high sensitivity.
▪ They incorporate avalanche multiplication, where carriers generated
by incident photons trigger an avalanche effect, resulting in higher
photocurrent.
▪ APDs are used in low-light-level detection, such as in astronomy, fiber-
optic telecommunication and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
systems.
 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Responsivity
The primary equation that governs the operation of a photodiode is the
relationship between the generated photocurrent (𝐼𝑜𝑝 ), incident light power (𝑃),
and the photodiode's responsivity (𝑅):
𝐼𝑜𝑝
Responsivity (𝑅) =
𝑃
𝐼𝑜𝑝 = 𝑃 × 𝑅
Where:
• 𝐼𝑜𝑝 is the photocurrent generated by the photodiode (in amperes, A).
• 𝑃 is the incident optical power (in watts, W).
• 𝑅 is the responsivity of the photodiode (in amperes per watt, A/W).
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Consider a photodetector with the following parameters:
• Cross-sectional area of the junction: 2 cm2
• Diffusion length for holes: 4 μm
• Diffusion length for electrons: 4 μm
• Width of the depletion region: 1 μm
• A generation rate of electron-hole pairs of 8 × 1019 EHP/cm3-s.

➢ Determine the responsivity of the photodetector with the provided incident light
power of 5 mW.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Responsivity
The responsivity also can vary with wavelength, so it's often specified as a function
of wavelength 𝑅(𝜆):
𝑞 𝜆(𝜇𝑚)
R λ =η ≈η
ℎ𝑓 1.23985

Where:
• η is the quantum efficiency.
• 𝑅(𝜆) is the responsivity of the photodiode at a specific wavelength 𝜆 (in A/W).
• 𝑞 is the electron charge,
• 𝑓 is the frequency of the optical signal,
• ℎ is Planck's constant.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Responsivity (Typical Photodetector Characteristic)

Wavelength Responsivity
Photodetector
(nm) (A/W)

Silicon PN 550-850 0.41-0.7

Silicon PIN 850-950 0.6-0.8

InGaAs PIN 1310-1550 0.85

InGaAs APD 1310-1550 0.80

Germanium 1000-1500 0.70

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Quantum Efficiency

Another important measure for a photodetector is the external quantum

efficiency.
In a photodiode (or some other photodetector), the quantum efficiency can be
defined as the fraction of incident photons which contribute to the external
photocurrent.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛/ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑

η=
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Dark Current
• In the reverse bias region (negative voltage
applied), the photodiode's dark current is plotted.
• Dark current is the small current that flows
through the photodiode when there is no incident
light.
• The dark current is slightly increases as the
reverse bias voltage increases.

• The dark current is affected by the photodiode material, temperatures (thermal

generation) and the size of the active area.
• Silicon devices generally produce lower dark current compared to germanium devices.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Photodiode Operating Modes

A photodiode can be operated in one of two modes:

• Photoconductive (reverse bias)
• Photovoltaic (zero-bias).

Mode selection depends upon the

application's speed requirements and
the amount of tolerable dark current
(leakage current).

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Photoconductive
• In photoconductive mode, an external reverse bias is applied, which is the
basis for our high-speed optical communication.
• The current measured through the circuit indicates illumination of the device;
the measured output current is linearly proportional to the input optical power.

• Operating under these conditions does tend to

produce a larger dark current, but this can be
limited based upon the photodiode material.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Photovoltaic

• In photovoltaic mode the photodiode is zero biased.

• The flow of current out of the device is restricted and a voltage builds up.
• This mode of operation exploits the photovoltaic effect, which is the basis for
solar cells

• The amount of dark current is kept at a

minimum when operating in photovoltaic
mode.

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Hints and Sample
Questions
 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

1: What are the three types of photodiodes? Explain briefly.

2: Explain the responsivity definition with interacted parameters in
the photodiode.
3: Describe the main parts involved in the formulation of total
reverse current with illumination.
4: Describe the main parts involved in the formulation of open
circuit voltage in the photodiode.
5: Explain quadrants of the I-V curve involved in photodiodes
operations.
6. Describe the Quantum Efficiency definition including the
formulation.
References for Self-Study

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In That Next Lecture

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Consider a photodetector with the following parameters:
• Cross-sectional area of the junction: 2 cm2
• Diffusion length for holes: 4 μm
• Diffusion length for electrons: 4 μm
• Width of the depletion region: 1 μm

➢ Calculate the current generated optically, given a generation rate of electron-hole

pairs of 8 × 1019 EHP/cm3-s.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Response:
𝐼𝑜𝑝 = 𝑞𝐴𝑔𝑜𝑝 𝐿𝑝 + 𝐿𝑛 + 𝑊
𝐼𝑜𝑝
= 1.6 × 10−19 . 2 . 8 × 1019 . 4 × 10−4 + 4 × 10−4 + 1 × 10−4
= 0.0230 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Consider a photodetector with the following parameters:
• Cross-sectional area of the junction: 2 cm2
• Diffusion length for holes: 4 μm
• Diffusion length for electrons: 4 μm
• Width of the depletion region: 1 μm
• A generation rate of electron-hole pairs of 8 × 1019 EHP/cm3-s.
• The absolute temperature (T): 300 K

➢ An open circuit is established across this device. Determine the corresponding

open-circuit voltage, considering that the thermally generated current is 15 nA.
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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Response:
𝑘𝑇 𝐼𝑜𝑝
𝑉𝑜𝑐 = 𝑙𝑛 +1
𝑞 𝐼𝑡ℎ

1.38 × 10−23 . (300) 0.0230

𝑉𝑜𝑐 = 𝑙𝑛 +1
(1.6 × 10−19 ) 15 × 10−9

𝑉𝑜𝑐 = 0.3685 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Consider a photodetector with the following parameters:
• Cross-sectional area of the junction: 2 cm2
• Diffusion length for holes: 4 μm
• Diffusion length for electrons: 4 μm
• Width of the depletion region: 1 μm
• A generation rate of electron-hole pairs of 8 × 1019 EHP/cm3-s.

➢ Determine the responsivity of the photodetector with the provided incident light
power of 5 mW.

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 Optoelectronic Devices (Photodiodes)

Example
Response:
𝐼𝑜𝑝 = 𝑞𝐴𝑔𝑜𝑝 𝐿𝑝 + 𝐿𝑛 + 𝑊
𝐼𝑜𝑝
= 1.6 × 10−19 . 2 . 8 × 1019 . 4 × 10−4 + 4 × 10−4 + 1 × 10−4
= 0.0230 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟
𝐼𝑜𝑝 0.0230
Responsivity (𝑅) = =
𝑃 5 × 10−3
𝑅 = 4.6 A/W

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