Theoretical Study on InAlAs/InGaAs Single Photon Avalanche Detectors (SPADs) with Self-Feedback

The self-quenching and self-recovery process of the InAlAs/InGaAs single-photon avalanche detector (SPAD) is demonstrated, during which the percentage of overbias voltage increases from 1% to 10%. The results show that the overbias voltage has a significant impact on the performance of SPAD. It is found that when the percentage of overbias voltage increases from 2% to 10%, both the trigger time and the quench time decrease, whereas the recovery time decreases first and reaches a minimum when the percentage of overbias voltage is 5%, and then increases. It is also clarified the specific mechanism that the device loses its self-feedback capability when the percentage of overbias voltage is less than 1%.