Ivan Prochzka

1
Recent Achievements in Solid State Photon
Detector Development at the Czech Technical
University

• Ivan Procházka
• Karel Hamal, Brno Sopko, Josef Blazej
• Czech Technical University in Prague,
• presented at
• Workshop on Single-Photon Detectors,
  Applications and Measurement Methods
• National Institute of Standards and Technology,
  Gaitersburg, MD, March 31, 2003

2
General
Recent Achievements in Solid State Photon
Detector Development at the Czech Technical
University

• Development of avalanche photodiode
  structuresfor photon counting, since 1984
• New materialsSi, Ge, Ge-Si, InGaAs, GaAs, GaP,
  GaAsP
• New quenching and gating circuits
• New measuring methods in optics
• New / space /applications

3
Single Photon Avalanche DiodesSemiconductor
materials
laser radar, LIdar
RTG a XUV diagnostics
comunication, cryptography
spectroscopy
4
Single Photon Detectors
Several examples of SPAD structures made by CTU
Si ,100 um,TE cooled
GaAs messa
GaAsP, 350 um
Active quenching and gating circuit
Complete detector packages
130 mm
60 mm
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Single Photon Avalanche Diodes on Si

• K.Hamal et al, CTU since 1984
• primary goal MCP replacement in Satellite
  Laser Ranging - active area gt 80 um -
  compact and rugged
• MILESTONESfirst samples 1984first Satellite
  Laser Ranging 1986routine world - wide
  use 1989200 um chips, TE cooled 1994single -
  multi photon operation 1998space
  qualified 1995
• S.Cova (1981) and J. Haitz (1962)

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Si Single Photon Avalanche Diodes K14
SeriesMain Parameters

• Planar structure on highly dopped Si
• shallow junction, guard ring
• UBR 30V, -30 mV / K
• apertures 20 - 200 um
• dark count drop 10 x / -30 K
• detection area uniformity

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Si Single Photon Avalanche DiodesDetector
Package
Self-consistent compact package SPAD 200 um, 3 x
TE cooled in vacuumcollecting optics f/D
1.0 active quenching and gate circuit gated
operation 40 x 40 x 130 mm, 300 g

• timing resolution, stability 50 ps FWHM, 1 ps
• dark count lt 10 kHz
• gate risetime , insulation lt 0.3 ns, 109
• damage threshold gt 109 Phot / ns pulses gt
  direct sunshine CW
• lifetime gt 14 years recorded

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Si SPAD Package with Time Walk CompensationSingle
and Multi-Photon Detection

• Built in circuit for the multi photontime walk
  compensation
• dyn. range ltngt 1 2000 Phot.
• residual walk lt /- 10 ps
• timing jitter 20/5 ps 1/1000 Phot.
• rugged and reliable no adjustment (3 years)

Kirchner et al, 1998
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Si SPAD K14 based T2L2 Detector
PackageMulti-Photon Timing
3 ps

• Time walk compensated using the analog signal
  monitor
• Precision 15 / 3 ps over the dynamic range 10 -
  10ooo Ph.
• Time stability better than 1 ps over 1000 s
• Insensitive to the laser pulse width (20 - 200
  ps)

E. Samain et al, CERGA, Grasse, 2002
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Germanium SPAD 100 um, 77 K Detector Package
for 1540 nm
Ge SPAD, 100 um 0.2 - 2.5 V above break compact
liq.N2 cryostat all the electronics built inQE
2-5 _at_ 1540 nm timing resolution 60 ps
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Laser ranging to space objects
Si, Ge SPADs used to detect weak optical
echoesltndet gt 0.001 to 1000 phot./echo 11
wavelengths 355 . 1540 nm
operation principle pulsed optical radar range
precision 1 .. 3 / mm / shot operational
range 0 - 30 ooo km 25 SPAD installations on 5
continents
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Time Resolved SpectroscopySi and Ge SPADs
Detectors comparison

• Time Correlated Photon Counting
• Hight timing resolution 50 ps FWHM
• Hight quantum efficiencyBroad spectral range

• Detector aperture 100 umgt filters signal in
  spacegt resistant to daylightgt limit of small
  volumes

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Single Molecules Detection, Si SPAD

• Laser Induced Fluorescence LIF
• laser is exciting organic molecules v capiláry
• the individual molecules are identified according
  their fluorescence decay time in a focal
  micro-volume within 1 ms

Rhodamin dye 10E-6 mol/l
fast gating appreciated
25 ns window
flow

• CTU Prague / Physical Chemistry Inst. University
  of Heidelberg

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Optical Time Domain Reflectometry Si, Ge SPADs

• High time / space resolution (mm)
• High dynamical range

Resolution 5 mm
40 cm

• University of Heidelberg, Germany
• Slovak Technical University, Bratislava, Slovakia
• Czech Grant Agency

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Si SPADs for Atmospheric Monitoring and
Environmental Sensing

• Photon counting LIDAR for
• metrology and ecology
• compact eye safe Lidar
• laser diode transmitter
• air pollution monitoring
• atmospheric visibility
• clouds monitoring

• Air pollution monitoring for industrial
  applications
• optical attenuation
• high SPAD stability
• micro - apertures

• Temperature sensorRaman OTDR in fiber
• geoscience
• SPAD stability
• time resolution

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InGaAs/InP Photon Detectors
EGG C30644ECERø 50 µm
Fujitsu FPD5W1KSø 30 µm

• GOAL high QE photon counting at 1500
  nm communication, cryptography
• PROBLEM APD on InGaAs (CTU design)
• SOLUTION commercial chips
• OPTIMIZING active quenching circuit operating
  conditions (temperature, bias..)

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InGaAs SPAD Detector PackageNew active quenching
and gating circuit

• GOAL to minimize the charge flowing trough APD
  in an avalanche to reduce after-pulsing and
  hence the dark count rate
• SOLUTION new circuit high gain/sensitivity f
  ast (ns delays)

CO comparatorPF pulse formingMC monostableOR
gate
ECL 100 k logic, SMDthreshold 10-15 mVloop
delay 2.6ns
32x40 mm

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InGaAs SPAD Detector PackageOptimizing the
Parametersnew circuit, temperature, bias
Optimizing the temperature

• Fujitsu 30 um and EGG 50 um gt EGG is less
  noisy .
• optimum operating conditions - 48o C, 0.5 V
  above br.
• FWHM 3.2 ns
• dark lt 300 kHz, gated, fgt0.1 MHz
• NEP 710-16 W/Hz1/2 _at_ 1550 nm
• QE 11 _at_ 1550 nm

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GaAs, GaP and GaAsP Photon Detectors
GaAs
GaAs

• main properties similar to Si SPADs
• room temperature operation, conventional
  quenching circuits
• dark count rate equal to Si SPADs, drops slowly
  with temp.

• GaP, 350 um diameter
• APPLICATION in X-ray.
• high damage threshold in X band
• QE 14 _at_ 0.15 nm , 40 keV
• GaAs 5V ab.,FWHM 66 ps

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40 keV X-ray Detection by GaP SPADs
X - ray lab. test bed
Dark count rate
Signal to noise ratio
Detection linearity
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Si SPADs for Space Applications

• Si SPAD chips are radiation resistantspace
  qualified
• The active quenching and gating circuit for both
  gated and not-gated operation of Si SPADs is
  available
• the bias circuit fabricated on the same wafer
  biases the chip within an extreme temperature
  range -80 to 25 C
• low Mass lt 30 g (entire package)
• low Power lt 400 mW
• low voltage Ult30V

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Si SPADs for Space Applications
MARS 92 (USSR / Russia, 1992-96) Photon counting
laser rangefinder Mars baloon altimetry
NASA Mars Polar Lander, (USA, 1998) Photon
counting Lidar, Mars surface atmospheric
studies
CTU Prague IKI Moscow
S.P.Pershin et all, IKI Russia
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Time Transfer by a Laser Light T2L2
Si SPAD used to detect the laser pulses 10 -10
ooo photons

• ps lasers and timing
• two way ranging to LEO gt ps clock comparison
  inter-continental scale
• 10 cm one way ranging
• solar system scale
• celestial mechanics
• gravity waves,...

E.Samain et al, OCA, France, Projects ESA, China
TIPO, ASTROD,..
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Available Detectors Summary

• Si detector packages- compact package, 0.25 -
  1.1 um, ps timing,- gated, not-gated operation-
  20 .. 200 um, TE cooling, low noise,- photon
  number estimate
• Ge detector package- 77 K , 0.25..1.6 um- 100
  um, 1 MHz dark, gated, ps timing,
• InGaAs- TE cooling temperatures, 11.8 um- 50
  um, ns timing, 0.1 MHz gate rates, dark lt 300 kHz
• GaP detectors- room temperature, X .. 0.8 um-
  300 um, ps timing

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Partial List of SPAD Users

• Communication Research Labs, Tokyo, Japan
• Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia
• NASA Lockheed Martin, USA
• Electro Optics Systems pty Ltd,
  Canberra, Australia
• BisQuant, Berlin, Germany
• University of Heidelberg, Germany
• University of Bern, Swittzerland
• Space Research Institute, Graz, Austria
• National Environmental Research Council NERC, UK
• Federal Bureau for Mapping and Geodesy, Germany
• CNRS, Grasse, France
• Chinesse Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
• Academy of Surveying and Mapping, Beijin,
  China
• Naval Observatory of Spain, San Fernando,
  Spain
• King Abdul City of Science and Technology,
  Saudi Arabia
• Stanford Linear Accelerator, Stanford, CA USA

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Future R D Challenges

• Si detector packages - new / space /
  applications
• Ge detector package - parameters optimization
• InGaAs - new commercial chips
• GaP detectors - pulsed X ray response
• Ge - Si (0.4 - 0.6) - new technologies -
  near IR, room temperature - high speed