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US 9,853,179 B2Granted
Reducing dark current in germanium photodiodes by electrical over-stress
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsBarry P. Linder, Jason S. Orcutt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems for reducing dark current in a photodiode include a heater configured to heat a photodiode above room temperature. A reverse bias voltage source is configured to apply a reverse bias voltage to the heated photodiode to reduce a dark current generated by the photodiode.
Claims20
A system for reducing dark current in a photodiode, comprising:
- a heater configured to heat a photodiode above room temperature;
- a reverse bias voltage source configured to apply a reverse bias voltage to the heated photodiode to reduce a dark current generated by the photodiode;
- and
- a control system configured to trigger the reverse bias voltage source to apply the reverse bias voltage for a duration less than a duration that the heater heats the photodiode.
1 more element
A system for reducing dark current in a photodiode, comprising:
- a heater configured to heat a photodiode above room temperature;
- a reverse bias voltage source configured to apply a reverse bias voltage to the heated photodiode to reduce a dark current generated by the photodiode;
- a dark current sensor configured to measure the dark current generated by the photodiode;
- and
- a control system configured to increase the reverse bias voltage until the measured dark current stabilizes to maximize a dark current reduction after the photodiode returns to room temperature.
2 more elements
A system for reducing dark current in a photodiode, comprising:
- a photodiode comprising a germanium layer above a silicon substrate;
- a heater comprising one of an ambient heater and an on-chip heater, configured to heat the photodiode above room temperature;
- a reverse bias voltage source configured to apply a constant reverse bias voltage to the heated photodiode to reduce a dark current generated by the photodiode;
- a dark current sensor configured to measure the dark current generated by the photodiode;
- and
- a control system configured to increase the reverse bias voltage until the measured dark current stabilizes to maximize a dark current reduction after the photodiode returns to room temperature.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.