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In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, troughs, or zero crossings. Wavelength is a characteristic of both traveling waves and standing waves, as well as other spatial wave patterns. The inverse of the wavelength is called the spatial frequency.
A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance). It has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A semiconductor diode, the most commonly used type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals. It has an exponential current–voltage characteristic. Semiconductor diodes were the first semiconductor electronic devices.
Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light and shorter than radio waves. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around 1 millimeter (300 GHz) to the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum, around 700 nanometers (430 THz). IR is commonly divided between longer-wavelength thermal infrared that is emitted from terrestrial sources and shorter-wavelength near-infrared that is part of the solar spectrum.
In this thesis we propose the use of photodiodes fabricated in planar technologies to address the detection problem in these applications. A number of solutions exist, optimized for these wavelengths,
EPFL2014
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A CMOS compatible Ge photodetector (Ge-PD) fabricated on Si substrates has been shown to be suitable for near infrared (NIR) sensing; linear and avalanche detection, in both proportional and Geiger mo
2014
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Pure gallium and pure boron (PureGaB) Ge-on-Si photodiodes were fabricated in a CMOS compatible process and operated in linear and avalanche mode. Three different pixel geometries with very different