Patent · US Expired

Optoelectronic device

US4816890A · kind A · utility

7Cited by
0References
15Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 6, 1986
Grant dateMar 28, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 6, 2006

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH10F30/2255

Abstract

An avalanche photodiode including a substrate, a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type having a relatively large band gap, a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type having a relatively large band gap, and a third semiconductor region of the first conductivity type having a band gap smaller than the band gap of the first and second semiconductor regions, is disclosed in which, in order to suppress an increase in dark current and to cause the avalanche photodiode to operate on a low voltage, a fourth semiconductor region equal in conductivity type to and larger in impurity concentration than the first semiconductor region is formed in the first semiconductor region at a position below a central portion of a pn junction formed between the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region. The avalanche photodiode formed with this structure has low-noise and low operation voltage characteristics.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.