Switching characteristic and capacitance analysis of a-Si:H pinpin photodiodes for visible range telecommunications

The device under study is an a-SiC:H/a-Si:H pinpin photodiodes produced by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition) and has a structure that consists of a p-i'(a-SiC:H)-n/p-i(a-Si:H)-n heterostructure with low conductivity doped layers. This device structure has been demonstrated useful in optical communications that use the WDM technique to encode multiple signals in the visible light range. We present in this work experimental results about C-V measurements of the device under complex conditions of illumination. Also it is presented an analysis based on the transient response of the device when illuminated by a pulsed light, with and without optical bias superposition. Rising and decaying times of the collected photocurrent will be outlined under the different conditions. A simulation study outlines the role played by each pin substructure on the response speed and gives some hint on the possible optimization of this device.