Development of InGaAs/AlGaAsSb Geiger Mode Avalanche Photodiodes

Near-infrared linear mode Al $_{\text{0.85}}$ Ga $_{\text{0.15}}$ As $_{\text{0.56}}$ Sb $_{\text{0.44}}$ avalanche photodiodes (APDs) exhibit excellent temperature stability, potentially simplifying Geiger mode operation. We have carried out the first experimental evaluation of In $_{\text{0.53}}$ Ga $_{\text{0.47}}$ As/Al $_{\text{0.85}}$ Ga $_{\text{0.15}}$ As $_{\text{0.56}}$ Sb $_{\text{0.44}}$ APDs in Geiger mode. Characterization on multiple devices included temperature-dependent dark current, avalanche multiplication, dark count rate (DCR), afterpulsing, and single photon detection efficiency (SPDE). The temperature coefficient of breakdown voltage extracted from avalanche multiplication data was 13.5 $\text{mV}\cdot\text{K}^{-\text{1}}$ , much lower than InGaAs/InP Geiger mode APDs, reducing changes in operation voltage and offering possible protection from high optical power thermal attack in communication systems. At 200 K, SPDE were 5%–16% with DCR of 1–20 $\text{Mc}\cdot\text{s}^{-\text{1}}$ , comparable to InAlAs and early InP-based Single Photon APDs. The afterpulsing at 200 K was negligible for hold-off time $>$ 50 $\mu$ s (reducing to 5 $\mu$ s at 250 K). These are similar to the performance of InGaAs/InAlAs and some InGaAs/InP Geiger mode APDs. The data reported in this article is available from the ORDA digital repository (https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.24125721).