Numerical And Analytical Theory Of The Time Response Of A Simple Multiquantum Well Avalanche Photodiode

Abstract

Numerical and analytical calculations for the time course of a simple GaAs/AlGaAs multi-quantum well avalanche photodiode are presented. The numerical calculations are based on an ensemble Monte Carlo calculation. The numerical results are obtained by an iterative method in which the parent electrons, those generated from photon absorption, are first simulated yielding the daughter electron and hole distributions. The daughter hole distribution is then simulated based on the time and spatial location of each particle's birth obtained from the previous simulation. The analytical formulation is based on the model of a marked filtered Bernoulli branching process. The analytical results are obtained from a generalized version of previously derived equations for the staircase avalanche photodiode. Both analytical and numerical results are presented for single-carrier initiated, single-carrier multiplication (SCI-SCM) devices. A comparison between the two calculations is addressed. Only simulation results are presented for single-carrier initiated, double-carrier multi-plication (SCI-DCM) devices.