Analysis of high-temperature performance of 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes in both linear and Geiger modes

Abstract

The high-temperature performance of 4H-SiC ultraviolet avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in both linear and Geiger modes is extensively investigated. During the temperature-dependent measurements, a fixed bias voltage is adopted for the device samples, which is much more practical and important for high-temperature applications. The results show that the fabricated 4H-SiC APDs are very stable and reliable at high temperatures. As the temperature increases from room temperature to 425 K, the dark current at 95% of the breakdown voltage increases slightly and remains lower than 40 pA. In Geiger mode, our 4H-SiC APDs can be self-quenched in a passive-quenching circuit, which is expected for high-speed detection systems. Moreover, an interesting phenomenon is observed for the first time: the single-photon detection efficiency shows a non-monotonic variation as a function of temperature. The physical mechanism of the variation in high-temperature performance is further analyzed. The results in this work can provide a fundamental reference for researchers in the field of 4H-SiC APD ultraviolet detectors.