A Physics Based Multiscale Compact Model of p-i-n Avalanche Photodiodes

III-V material based digital alloy Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs) have recently been found to exhibit low noise similar to Silicon APDs. The III-V materials can be chosen to operate at any wavelength in the infrared spectrum. In this work, we present a physics-based SPICE compatible compact model for APDs built from parameters extracted from an Environment-Dependent Tight Binding (EDTB) model calibrated to ab-initio Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Monte Carlo (MC) methods. Using this approach, we can accurately capture the physical characteristics of these APDs in integrated photonics circuit simulations.

Automated summary

III-V material based APDs have been found to have low noise levels similar to Silicon APDs, and can operate at any wavelength in the infrared spectrum. A physics-based SPICE compatible compact model has been developed to accurately capture the physical characteristics of these APDs in integrated photonics circuit simulations, using parameters extracted from an EDTB model calibrated to DFT and MC methods.