Avalanche Photodiodes – Design and Applications

By Dr. Oleks Goushcha, Lead Scientist, Semiconductor Devices
Advanced Photonix, A Division of OSI Optoelectronics

This white paper will discuss avalanche photodiodes beginning with a brief description, their applications, and the basics of operation. The discussion will be an overview of the important performance parameters of traditional APD structures, structure-function properties, and parameters characterization. Also included will be an important section on Geiger mode APDs, aka Single Photon Avalanche Detectors (SPADs), with a closing section on Silicon Photomultipliers, aka Micro-Pixel Photon Counters.

Author’s Bio:

Dr. Oleks Goushcha, a highly respected, seasoned veteran in optoelectronics and semiconductor technologies, has held key positions as VP of Research and Development, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Scientist at various U. S. companies before his appointment at OSI Optoelectronics as Lead Scientist, Semiconductor Devices. Dr. Goushcha has 15 patents in semiconductor devices and optoelectronics. He has authored papers in over 100 peer-reviewed and professional journals and has presented many technical papers at leading research conferences.

Dr. Goushcha received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Physics and Solid State Optics from Taras Shevchenko University in Ukraine, and his PhD in Solid State Physics from the Institute of Physics, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. His academic activity included research work at Max-Planck Institute for Radiochemistry (Germany) and the University of California at Riverside. He was awarded multiple research grants from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Max-Planck Society, and the Netherlands Ministry of Sciences.

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