Optical gain at low bias voltages in electrostatic-discharge-damaged silicon p-i-n photodiodes

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Abstract The sensitivity of commercial p-i-n silicon photodiodes to electrostatic discharges was determined by monitoring continuously electronic and optoelectronic device properties during human body model step-stress tests. The device degradation threshold pulse amplitudes ranging from 175 to 300 V for reverse-bias stress and from 10000 to 13 500V for forward-bias stress were found, evidenced in all cases by an increase in the reverse-bias dark current. In the case of a forward-bias-stressed diode, however, we observed a substantial increase in the responsivity of the photodiode at low reverse-bias voltages after electrostatic-discharge-related degradation. The photocurrent gain, which increased with decreasing light intensity and increasing bias voltage, reached a saturation value exceeding 500 for low optical powers and a reverse-bias voltage of 10 V. Additionally it was observed than the open-circuit voltage of the photodiode at a given light power is a more sensitive parameter for device degradation...