Supersensitive avalanche silicon drift photodetector

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel silicon-based avalanche photodetector with high gain, capable of detecting individual photons in visible and ultraviolet ranges, using MOS technology and a specialized feedback mechanism.

Contribution

It presents a new avalanche photodetector design with high gain and discusses its potential for supersensitive photon detection, including experimental prototype results.

Findings

Achieved high photocurrent gain (>10^4)

Demonstrated potential for single-photon detection

Developed a prototype CCD with promising performance

Abstract

Physical principles of performance and main characteristics of a novel avalanche photodetector developed on the basis of MOS(metal-oxide-silicon) technology is presented. The photodetector contains a semitransparent gate electrode and a drain contact to provide a drift of multiplicated charge carriers along the semiconductor surface. A high gain(more than 10^4) of photocurrent was achived due to the local negative feedback effect realizied on the Si-SiO_2 boundary. Special attention is paid to the possibilities of development of a supersensitive avalanche CCD (charge coupled device) for detection of individual photons in visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. Experimental results obtained with a two-element CCD prototype are discussed.