High crosstalk suppression in InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode arrays by carrier extraction structure

Abstract

Crosstalk has become an urgent issue for single-photon avalanche diode arrays. In previous work, trenches were introduced between pixels to block the crosstalk optical path in planar InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode arrays, since the optical crosstalk was considered as the main crosstalk mechanism. However, the crosstalk suppression effect of this solution is not satisfactory. Here, we demonstrate a carrier extraction structure to efficiently reduce crosstalk by electrically guiding photogenerated crosstalk holes in the non-pixel region to the surface, since we find that the optical-electrical crosstalk is the dominant crosstalk mechanism. Experimental measurements show that a narrow carrier extraction structure makes a 91.52% (96.22%) crosstalk reduction between the nearest neighbor pixels in arrays with 100 (50) μm pixel pitch, and it does not cause any etching damage. These results reveal the primary source of crosstalk in InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode arrays and provide a practical route to fabricate low-crosstalk, high-pixel-density arrays for use in high-resolution three-dimensional imaging and quantum technologies.