Standard and custom Silicon avalanche photodiodes (Si APD’s), in quantities from prototype to OEM volumes, offer low-level light and short pulse detections of wavelengths between 400 and 1100 nm.
They are offered with choice of either a 230 or 500 µm active diameter; optical sensitivity optimizations for 800 or 905 nm peak response; an internal gain mechanism; high gain at low bias voltage; extremely fast rise times, as low as 300 ps; frequency response to 1 GHz; and a low breakdown voltage of 80 to 200V.
Standard Si APDs are offered with multiple customization options, including operational voltage selection and Vbr binning, wavelength specific band-pass filtering, and hybridization. Package options include hermetically sealed TO metal cans, plastic, and cost-effective SMD (LCC) types, with additional customization by request.
As precision measurement devices, Si APD’s offer low dark current and significantly higher sensitivities, including higher NIR spectral sensitivity, than can be achieved with a standard photodiode. This allows the Si APD’s to serve as the semiconductor near-equivalent to photomultipliers within a myriad of applications. It also allows the Si APD’s to accurately detect weaker light intensities, in applications where higher bandwidth or internal gain may be required, to overcome higher preamplifier noise levels. Typical applications for Si APD’s include laser counting, x-ray spectroscopy, optical data communications, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrumentation, optical rangefinders, spatial light transmitters, scintillation detectors, fast receiver modules, particle detectors, industrial surveying equipment, automated toll collectors, astronomy observation devices, and vehicle self-braking and self-parking systems.
