Nature of Photoelectric Effect in a Ge-on-Si SPAD at Ultralow Energy in Incident Pulsed Laser Radiation

Abstract

The photoelectric effect in a Ge-on-Si single-photon avalanche detector (SPAD) at an ultralow energy in incident pulsed laser radiation is considered in the frame of the classical theory of the electrodynamics of continuous media. It is shown that the energy of incident laser radiation which is shared among a huge number of electrons in a Ge matrix can concentrate on only one of these through the effect of the constructive interference of the fields re-emitted by surrounding electrons. Conservation of energy in this case is upheld because of a substantial narrowing of the effective bandgap in heavily doped p-Ge, which is used in the design of the SPAD considered.