Silicon Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs)

Silicon APDs are designed to operate at voltages just below their breakdown point. When an APD is reversed biased, a field is formed in the depletion region and this field will accelerate photon carriers. The photon carriers will collide with atoms in the field, producing secondary carriers, this results in the signal being "amplified". TOI Silicon APDs generally require operating voltages of up to 185 Volts and are best suited for low light level applications. APDs generally have typical responsivities of 20 A/W and very fast Rise Times on the order of ~500 psec. A reference diode can be added for constant gain over temperature.

Applications:

• Telecommunications – High Speed Data Transmission Equipment (Receivers)

• Computers – Optical Bus Interface (Receivers)

• Range Finders – Distance Detection

• Optical Imaging – High Speed Optical Imaging of Body Tissue

• Astronomy – Photon Counters

Texas Optoelectronics Inc., 714 Shepherd Dr., Garland, TX 75042. Tel: 214-487-0085; Fax: 214-276-8059.