γ辐照对InGaAsP/InP单光子雪崩探测器性能的影响
1 Introduction
As a spatial exploration technology,remote sensing has gone through three stages:ground-based,airborne,and space-based. With increasing demands for detection distance and sensitivity in space remote sensing,infrared detectors with single-photon detection performance are urgently needed. Near-infrared InGaAs(P)/InP single-photon avalanche diodes(SPADs)have attracted wide attention in the field of space remote sensing due to small size,low power consumption,stable operation,and insensitivity to ultra-low operating temperatures[1,2]. However,in the complex space environment,many high-energy particles such as electrons,protons,neutrons,and heavy ions[3-5] create a radiation environment in which photodetectors experience displacement,total-ionization-dose,and single-event effects. These will temporarily or even permanently damage the performance of the detector,leading to performance degradation or even failure[6-9]. Therefore,in order to verify the reliability of the detector's operation in space,it is necessary to study how radiation affects device performance[10].
There have been various studies on the radiation resistance of InGaAs(P)/InP photodiodes. For example,Richard D. Harris et al. investigated how proton and gamma irradiation affected the performance of an InGaAs avalanche photodiode(APD)[11,12]:under proton irradiation with an energy of 63 MeV and an incident flux of 2×1012 P/cm2,the dark current of the detector increased from 5.6 nA to 1µA. Under gamma irradiation with a total dose of 269 krad(Si),the dark current of the detector increased from 0.1 nA to 1 nA. In addition,Zhang et al. gamma-irradiated an InGaAs p-i-n photodiode with a radiation dose rate of 16 rad(Si)/s and a total radiation dose of 30 krad(Si),and the results showed that the dark signal of the detector increased slightly after irradiation[13].
Previous studies on γ-irradiation of InGaAs(P)/InP photodetectors have mainly focused on p-i-n photodiodes or APDs,with little research on SPADs. In this paper,InGaAsP/InP SPADs were gamma-irradiated with 60Co at different irradiation doses and dose rates,and the dark current,the photon detection efficiency(PDE),the after pulse probability(APP),and the dark count rate(DCR)were compared to analyze how gamma radiation affected the performance of InGaAsP/InP SPADs.
1 Irradiated samples and experiments
1.1 Device structure
The APD chip is composed of a separate absorption,grading,charge,and multiplication(SAGCM)heterostructure,as shown in
图 1. TO-66封装的InGaAsP/InP单光子雪崩探测器(SPAD)原理图: (a) InGaAsP/InP APD结构截面示意图; (b) APD 芯片; (c) 物理外观
Fig. 1. Schematic of a TO-66 packaged InGaAsP/InP single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD): (a) Cross-sectional schematic of the InGaAsP/InP APD structure; (b)APD chip; (c) Physical appearance
1.2 Irradiation conditions
The irradiation source was a 60Co point source with an intensity of 140 000 Ci,and all irradiations were performed at room temperature. According to the spatial application requirements of InGaAsP/InP SPADs,they should be able to work normally at an radiation dose rate of 5 krad(Si)/h and a total dose of 10 krad(Si). Therefore,the detectors were exposed at a dose rates of up to 50 krad(Si)/h and a total dose of up to 20 krad(Si).
Five devices with similar single-photon performance were selected from the same batch for irradiation experiments. The irradiation conditions were summarized in
表 1. 样品辐照条件
Table 1. Summary of Irradiation Conditions
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1.3 Test parameters
We tested the SPADs’ dark currents in linear mode and the single-photon performances in Geiger-mode before and after irradiations,including PDEs,APPs,and DCRs. The dark current was tested using a Keithley 2635B programmable source meter. To test the single-photon performance,we built a pulse-gated single-photon test system as shown in
图 2. 门控模式单光子探测系统原理图
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of gated-mode single-photon detection system
2 Experimental results and analysis
2.1 Influence of Gamma irradiation on dark current
图 3. 辐照前后暗电流: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#
Fig. 3. Dark current before and after irradiation: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#
During irradiation,high-energy particles incident on the device lose energy due to ionization processes and generate electron-hole pairs in the material. If the rate of introducing electron-hole pairs is lower than the recombination rate,the performance of the device will tend to rapidly stabilize,which typically occurs within a few seconds to minutes after irradiation[14]. To illustrate this possibility,an in-situ experiment was conducted on Device 3#. The irradiation dose rate remained at 5 krad(Si)/h. When the irradiation dose reached 1/7/10/20/50/70 krad(Si),the device was taken out and tested as soon as possible within 15 minutes.
Becker et al. subjected InGaAs APDs to gamma irradiation with doses ranging from 1 krad to 200 krad(Si):the maximum change in dark current after irradiation was 10 nA. However,Becker et al. did not specify the dose rate they used. We increased the dose rate from 5 to 50 krad(Si)/h and raised the total dose for Devices 4# and 5# to 10 krad(Si)and 20 krad(Si),respectively. The dark current of each device was tested before and after irradiation,and the results were shown in
图 5. 辐照前后暗电流: (a) Device 4#; (b) Device 5#
Fig. 5. Dark current before and after irradiation: (a) Device 4; (b) Device 5
图 6. Device 5#辐照前后暗电流增量变化
Fig. 6. Change of the dark current increment before and after irradiation for Device 5#
As the electric field increased,the depletion layer gradually increased,collecting more and more electron-hole pairs caused by irradiation. As shown in
Next,we will describe in detail the effects of irradiation on single-photon performance,such as PDE,DCR,and APP. It should be noted that these parameters after irradiation were obtained by shift testing 2 hours after irradiation.
2.2 Influence of Gamma irradiation on photon detection efficiency
For a SPAD,PDE is defined as the probability of detecting an incident single photon,which consists of three parts:quantum efficiency,i.e.,the photoelectric conversion efficiency of incident photons. This is mainly related to parameters such as the probability of optical coupling,the thickness of the absorption layer,and the absorption efficiency of the material. Another part is the probability of photo-excited carriers injecting into the multiplication layer,and the other is the probability of carriers injected into the multiplication layer to trigger avalanche breakdown which is determined by the electric field and the thickness of the multiplication layer.
As can be seen in
图 7. 辐照前后APD探测效率变化曲线: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#; (c) Device 4#; (d) Device 5#
Fig. 7. PDEs of APDs before and after irradiation: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#; (c) Device 4#; (d) Device 5#
2.3 Influence of Gamma irradiation on after pulse probability
The APP is also an important parameter for an APD,which represents the false avalanche probability caused by the release of captured carriers due to defects in the APD material in the absence of photon incidence.
图 8. 辐照前后APD后脉冲概率变化曲线: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#; (c) Device 4#; (d) Device 5#
Fig. 8. PDEs of APPs before and after irradiation: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#; (c) Device 4#; (d) Device 5#
3.4 Influence of Gamma irradiation on dark count rate
图 9. 辐照前后APD暗计数率变化曲线: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#; (c) Device 4#; (d) Device 5#
Fig. 9. DCRs of APPs before and after irradiation: (a) Device 1#; (b) Device 2#; (c) Device 4#; (d) Device 5#
表 2. 在PDE 40%时DCR的变化情况
Table 2. Change of DCR after irradiation at 40% PDE
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The difference in DCR and recovery time between Device 4#/5# and Device 1#/2# was mainly due to the difference in total radiation dose and the dose rate. As the radiation dose rate increased,the generation rate of electron-hole pairs exceeded the recombination rate,resulting in a multiplication process in the depletion layer and a longer time to recover to the non-irradiation level. In addition,as the total radiation dose increased,the number of generated electron-hole pairs increased,resulting in more obvious changes in DCR.
3 Conclusions
In this paper,InGaAsP/InP SPADs were gamma-irradiated at different doses and dose rates. At a radiation dose of 10 krad(Si),there were no changes in the dark current,PDE and APP,only a slight increase in DCR,which basically recovered to the non-irradiation level within a few days. When the radiation dose was increased to 20 krad(Si),the dark current and the DCR began to increase and gradually recovered after annealing at room temperature. The analysis indicated that the performance degradation of the device was mainly caused by ionization damage from gamma irradiation in the bulk material,resulting in many electron-hole pairs and a short-term degradation of device performance. During subsequent room temperature annealing,the device performance recovered to the level of non-irradiation due to the recombination of non-equilibrium carriers.
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Article Outline
孙京华, 王文娟, 诸毅诚, 郭子路, 祁雨菲, 徐卫明. γ辐照对InGaAsP/InP单光子雪崩探测器性能的影响[J]. 红外与毫米波学报, 2024, 43(1): 44. Jing-Hua SUN, Wen-Juan WANG, Yi-Cheng ZHU, Zi-Lu GUO, Yu-Fei QI, Wei-Ming XU. Effects of Gamma irradiation on performance of InGaAsP/InP single-photon avalanche diodes[J]. Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves, 2024, 43(1): 44.