Effect of multiplication layer width on breakdown voltage in InP/InGaAs avalanche photodiode

Breakdown voltages of InP/InGaAs avalanche photodiodes have been analyzed with structure parameters, such as multiplication layer width (MLW) and absorption layer thickness. It is shown that there exists a critical MLW, w0, where the breakdown voltage is the lowest. As MLW increases, the breakdown voltage increases slowly in the region of MLW≥w0 while the breakdown voltage decreases in the region of MLW≤w0. It is also revealed that w0 is a function of absorption layer thickness. The measured breakdown voltages having MLWs of 0.15–0.4 μm were reported and compared to the calculated ones, which agreed very well with each other.