Development of CMOS-based APD Arrays with Si-Ge-C Materials

This project proposes the development of CMOS-based pixels in which the light-sensing device is a SiGeC APD (Avalanche Photo-Diode). The SiGeC-APD CMOS pixels will include in-pixel circuitry that will enable them to operate in multiple modes, including a proportional mode, with analog amplification of the photo-current, and a non-proportional Geiger mode, suitable for single photon detection and counting. The CMOS pixels will be integrated into 1D and 2D arrays.The present proposal comprises two main activities. The first activity is the development of SiGeC APD device structures using commercially available BiCMOS processes from foundries and conventional SiGeC random alloys. The second main activity is the theoretical and experimental development of Si-Ge-C superlattices (SLs). The long-term goal of this development is to replace the standard SiGeC alloys with the Si-Ge-C SLs in the Photo-Absorption region of the APDs. The technical approach is to pursue these two main activities in parallel up to the point at which they are ready to be merged with each other.