Photodetectors

In this book some recent advances in development of photodetectors and photodetection systems for specific applications are included. In the first section of the book nine different types of photodetectors and their characteristics are presented. Next, some theoretical aspects and simulations are discussed. The last eight chapters are devoted to the development of photodetection systems for imaging, particle size analysis, transfers of time, measurement of vibrations, magnetic field, polarization of light, and particle energy. The book is addressed to students, engineers, and researchers working in the field of photonics and advanced technologies

THE SILICON PHOTOMULTIPLIER:AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS IN THE CONTINUOUS WAVE REGIME

The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel solid state photon counting detector consisting of a parallel array of avalanche photodiodes biased beyond their breakdown voltage. It has known a fast development in the last few years as a possible alternative to vacuum photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and conventional avalanche photodiodes (APDs). Indeed, current research in photodetectors is directed toward an increasing miniaturization of the pixel size, thus both improving the spatial resolution and reducing the device dimensions. SiPMs show high photon detection efficiency in the visible and near infrared range, low power consumption, high gain, ruggedness, compact size, excellent single-photon response, fast rise time and reduced sensitivity with temperature, voltage fluctuations, and magnetic fields. Furthermore, solid-state technology owns the typical advantages of the planar integration process, therefore, they can be manufactured at low costs and with high reproducibility. SiPMs performances in photon counting regime have been deeply investigated in literature, using picosecond pulsed lasers. In this regime, they can be used in applications like positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear physics instrumentation, high energy physics. An optical characterization performed via continuous wave (CW) sources has seldom been reported even though this kind of excitation seems to be very useful in several fields such as low power measurements, near-infrared spectroscopy and immunoassay tests. In this Thesis, I perform an electrical and optical analysis of two novel classes of SiPMs in the CW regime. After a brief introduction about the SiPM operating principle, parameters and properties (Chapter 1), I describe my responsivity measurements made with an incident optical power down to tenths of picowatts, monitoring the temperature of the device packages, and on a spectrum ranging from ultraviolet to near infrared (Chapter 2). These measurements allowed to define an innovative criterion to establish the conditions necessary for the device to be usable in CW regime. Chapter 3 continues with an investigation of the SiPM signal-to-noise ratio. Measurements employed a 10 Hz equivalent noise bandwidth, around a tunable reference frequency in the range 1 - 100 kHz, and were performed varying the applied bias and the temperature of the SiPM package. These results were compared with similar measurements performed on a PMT. Once the SiPM is characterized, Chapter 4 reports an innovative application: an optical characterization of a class of photonic crystals infiltrated with a new ethanol responsive hydrogel employing the SiPM as a reference photodetector. This activity shows innovative developments for the ethanol sensing to be applied into inexpensive and minimally invasive breathalyzers. Finally, Appendix A shows an electro-optical characterization of a novel class of Silicon Carbide (SiC) vertical Schottky UV detectors. I performed responsivity measurements as a function of the wavelength and the applied bias, varying the temperature of the SiC package, in the 200 - 400 nm range. The results of this work show a new approach to investigate the SiPM capabilities, the CW regime, demonstrating its outstanding performances and innovative applications. This Thesis was made in collaboration with the "Advanced Sensors Development Group" of STMicroelectronics and partially supported by the Project HIGH PROFILE (HIGH-throughput PROduction of FunctIonaL 3D imagEs of the brain), which is funded by the European Community under the ARTEMIS Joint Undertaking scheme.The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel solid state photon counting detector consisting of a parallel array of avalanche photodiodes biased beyond their breakdown voltage. It has known a fast development in the last few years as a possible alternative to vacuum photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and conventional avalanche photodiodes (APDs). Indeed, current research in photodetectors is directed toward an increasing miniaturization of the pixel size, thus both improving the spatial resolution and reducing the device dimensions. SiPMs show high photon detection efficiency in the visible and near infrared range, low power consumption, high gain, ruggedness, compact size, excellent single-photon response, fast rise time and reduced sensitivity with temperature, voltage fluctuations, and magnetic fields. Furthermore, solid-state technology owns the typical advantages of the planar integration process, therefore, they can be manufactured at low costs and with high reproducibility. SiPMs performances in photon counting regime have been deeply investigated in literature, using picosecond pulsed lasers. In this regime, they can be used in applications like positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear physics instrumentation, high energy physics. An optical characterization performed via continuous wave (CW) sources has seldom been reported even though this kind of excitation seems to be very useful in several fields such as low power measurements, near-infrared spectroscopy and immunoassay tests. In this Thesis, I perform an electrical and optical analysis of two novel classes of SiPMs in the CW regime. After a brief introduction about the SiPM operating principle, parameters and properties (Chapter 1), I describe my responsivity measurements made with an incident optical power down to tenths of picowatts, monitoring the temperature of the device packages, and on a spectrum ranging from ultraviolet to near infrared (Chapter 2). These measurements allowed to define an innovative criterion to establish the conditions necessary for the device to be usable in CW regime. Chapter 3 continues with an investigation of the SiPM signal-to-noise ratio. Measurements employed a 10 Hz equivalent noise bandwidth, around a tunable reference frequency in the range 1 - 100 kHz, and were performed varying the applied bias and the temperature of the SiPM package. These results were compared with similar measurements performed on a PMT. Once the SiPM is characterized, Chapter 4 reports an innovative application: an optical characterization of a class of photonic crystals infiltrated with a new ethanol responsive hydrogel employing the SiPM as a reference photodetector. This activity shows innovative developments for the ethanol sensing to be applied into inexpensive and minimally invasive breathalyzers. Finally, Appendix A shows an electro-optical characterization of a novel class of Silicon Carbide (SiC) vertical Schottky UV detectors. I performed responsivity measurements as a function of the wavelength and the applied bias, varying the temperature of the SiC package, in the 200 - 400 nm range. The results of this work show a new approach to investigate the SiPM capabilities, the CW regime, demonstrating its outstanding performances and innovative applications. This Thesis was made in collaboration with the "Advanced Sensors Development Group" of STMicroelectronics and partially supported by the Project HIGH PROFILE (HIGH-throughput PROduction of FunctIonaL 3D imagEs of the brain), which is funded by the European Community under the ARTEMIS Joint Undertaking scheme

Miniaturized Silicon Photodetectors

Silicon (Si) technologies provide an excellent platform for the design of microsystems where photonic and microelectronic functionalities are monolithically integrated on the same substrate. In recent years, a variety of passive and active Si photonic devices have been developed, and among them, photodetectors have attracted particular interest from the scientific community. Si photodiodes are typically designed to operate at visible wavelengths, but, unfortunately, their employment in the infrared (IR) range is limited due to the neglectable Si absorption over 1100 nm, even though the use of germanium (Ge) grown on Si has historically allowed operations to be extended up to 1550 nm. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved both by improving the performance of Si-based photodetectors in the visible range and by extending their operation to infrared wavelengths. Near-infrared (NIR) SiGe photodetectors have been demonstrated to have a “zero change” CMOS process flow, while the investigation of new effects and structures has shown that an all-Si approach could be a viable option to construct devices comparable with Ge technology. In addition, the capability to integrate new emerging 2D and 3D materials with Si, together with the capability of manufacturing devices at the nanometric scale, has led to the development of new device families with unexpected performance. Accordingly, this Special Issue of Micromachines seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that show the most recent advances in the field of silicon photodetectors and their respective applications

CMOS SINGLE-PHOTON AVALANCHE DIODES AND MICROMACHINED OPTICAL FILTERS FOR INTEGRATED FLUORESCENCE SENSING

This dissertation presents a body of work that addresses the two most pressing challenges in the field of integrated fluorescence sensing, namely, the design of integrated optical sensors and the fabrication of high-rejection micro-scale optical filters. Two novel enabling technologies were introduced. They are: the perimeter-gated single-photon avalanche diode (PGSPAD), for on-chip photon counting, and the benzotriazole (BTA)-doped thin-film polymer filter, for on-chip ultraviolet light rejection. Experimental results revealed that the PGSPAD front-end, fabricated in a 0.5 μm standard mixed-signal CMOS process, had the capability of counting photons in the MHz regime. In addition, it was found that a perimeter gate, a structural feature used to suppress edge breakdown in the diode, also maximized the signal-to-noise-ratio in the high-count rate regime whereas it maximized sensitivity at low count rates. On the other hand, BTA-doped filters were demonstrated utilizing three commonly used polymers as hosts. The filters were patternable, utilizing the same procedures traditionally used to pattern the undoped polymer hosts, a key advantage for integration into microsystems. Filter performance was analyzed using a set of metrics developed for optoelectronic characterization of integrated fluorescence sensors; high rejection levels (nearing -40 dB) of UV light were observed in films of only 5 μm in thickness. Ultimately, BTA-doped filters were integrated into a portable sensor, and their use was demonstrated in two types of bioassays

Advanced Photonic Sciences

The new emerging field of photonics has significantly attracted the interest of many societies, professionals and researchers around the world. The great importance of this field is due to its applicability and possible utilization in almost all scientific and industrial areas. This book presents some advanced research topics in photonics. It consists of 16 chapters organized into three sections: Integrated Photonics, Photonic Materials and Photonic Applications. It can be said that this book is a good contribution for paving the way for further innovations in photonic technology. The chapters have been written and reviewed by well-experienced researchers in their fields. In their contributions they demonstrated the most profound knowledge and expertise for interested individuals in this expanding field. The book will be a good reference for experienced professionals, academics and researchers as well as young researchers only starting their carrier in this field

Optimization of Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Semiconductor Sensors via On-Chip Signal Amplification and Interface-Induced Noise Suppression.

Radiation detectors are now used in a large variety of fields in science and technology, and the number of applications is growing continually. This thesis presents the development of a wide band-gap solid state photomultiplier (SSPM) and the performance improvement of Si radiation detector with respect to noise suppression and resolution enhancement. Recently developed advanced scintillators, which have the ability to distinguish gamma-ray interaction events from those that accompany neutron impact, require improved quantum efficiency in the blue or near UV region of the spectrum. We utilize AlGaAs photodiode elements as components in a wide band-gap SSPM as a lower-cost, lower logistical burden and higher quantum efficiency replacement for the photomultiplier tube (PMT). We demonstrate that the diodes are responsive to blue and near UV in both linear and breakdown modes with robust electrical characteristics, which includes the leakage current and the onset of breakdown against geometric alteration in the diode design. For semiconductor direct-conversion radiation detectors, we investigated the performance enhancement of the detector via the suppression of noise induced from the semiconductor interface and the resolution improvement with on-chip amplification. The properties of the phonon-based noise are studied and methods to quench the charge mobility fluctuation via surface control, evaluating acoustic reflectance at the semiconductor metal interface by calculating reflectance coefficient via the roaming phonon microgradient (RPMG) model. Si radiation detectors are fabricated and the hypotheses evaluated with different geometries and metal types. In addition to the noise suppression, we also sought to increase the device signal by integrating an amplifying junction as part of the detector topology so that the SNR could be maximized. From this research, we demonstrated the feasibility of improving the energy resolution relative to those low-noise designs that don’t possess on-chip amplification by modeling, fabricating, and characterizing proof-of-concept planar and partitioned detectors. From the fabricated detectors, a semi-empirical result shows that the energy resolution for 81 keV gamma-rays can be reduced from 2.12 % to 0.96 % (for a k = 0.2) with a gain of ~8, which shows the best SNR optimization from our modeling.PhDElectrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111488/1/thnkang_1.pd

Novel time-resolved camera based on compressed sensing

Time-resolved cameras with high temporal resolution (down to ps) enable a huge set of novel applications ranging from biomedicine and environmental science to material and device characterization. In this work, we propose, and experimentally validate, a novel detection scheme for time-resolved imaging based on a compressed sampling approach. The proposed scheme unifies into a single element all the required operations, i.e. space modulation, space integration and time-resolved detection, paving the way to dramatic cost reduction, performance improvement and ease of use

Singlet oxygen luminescence detection

The detection of a single photon at 1270 nm wavelength allows the direct monitoring of Singlet Oxygen (1O2), making Singlet Oxygen Luminescence Detection (SOLD) a powerful dosimetry technique for photodynamic therapy in the treatment of cancer. However, the direct detection of 1O2 emission at 1270 nm wavelength is extremely challenging as the 1O2 → 3O2 transition in biological media has very low probability and short lifetime due to the high reactivity of singlet oxygen with biomolecules. Recent advances in single photon detection providing high detection efficiency, low noise single-photon detectors are an important innovation in the development of a practical SOLD system for eventual clinical use. In this thesis I present a compact fibre coupled SOLD system, using a supercontinuum pump source to precisely target exact photosensitizer absorption peak wavelengths and single-photon detectors for near-infrared detection by benchmarking a superconducting and a semiconductor photon counting detector. Both pump laser and detector are intrinsically fibre-coupled making them ideally suited for the development of practical singlet oxygen sensor head. The SOLD system was used to carry out a series of singlet oxygen time-resolved measurements in solution and in live cells. These measurements offer information on the photosensitized generation and deactivation of singlet oxygen generated by different photosensitizers and microenvironments at the 1270 nm wavelength and a first investigation of the 1590 nm singlet oxygen luminescence signal is presented

Optical Characterization of Anisotropic Interfaces

The understanding of optical properties of surfaces and interfaces are critical for the development of new technologies ranging from photonics to molecular electronics. Knowing for example the orientation of molecules functionalized onto a surface yields valuable information about the macroscopic properties of the resulting surface. The optical properties can be tuned using various strategies such as molecular functionalization or patterning of meta-structures that ultimately interact with light in a rational way. Advanced optical and spectroscopy methods allowing one to probe such surfaces are therefore key to correlate properties and surface functionalization. In this thesis, multiple approaches have been taken to understand the optical response of anisotropic interfaces. First, polarization-modulation infrared linear dichroism is used to characterize thin films of azobenzene-containing glasses and follow the dynamic of their orientation. Because of the high charge-transfer of these molecules their nonlinear properties are also investigated using second harmonic generation microscopy under microscopy conditions. The coupling of nonlinear active molecules with metallic nanostructures is also investigated using SHG to evaluate the plasmonic enhancements from the nanostructures alone or functionalized with molecules with high hyperpolarizability