Full Counting Statistics of Avalanche Transport: an Experiment

TL;DR

This paper presents the first experimental measurement of high order cumulants of current fluctuations in an avalanche diode, revealing a distinct power-law distribution of charge multiplication factors in collective avalanche transport.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental determination of high order cumulants in avalanche transport and characterizes the distribution of charge multiplication factors.

Findings

Measured the first 5 cumulants of current fluctuations.

Discovered a power-law distribution of charge multiplication factors.

Identified differences from usual avalanche behavior below breakdown.

Abstract

We report the first measurement of high order cumulants of the current fluctuations in an avalanche diode run through by a stationary dc current. Such a system is archetypic of devices in which transport is governed by a collective mechanism, here charge multiplication by avalanche. We have measured the first 5 cumulants of the probability distribution of the current fluctuations. We show that the charge multiplication factor is distributed according to a power law that is different from that of the usual avalanche below breakdown, when avalanches are well separated.