title: Operation of silicon single photon avalanche diodes at cryogenic temperature.
abstract: This article reports a complete characterization of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) at temperatures down to 120 K. We show that deep cooling of the device by means of a compact liquid-nitrogen Dewar brings several advantages, such as extremely low dark counting rates (down to 1 counts/s), better time resolution, and higher quantum efficiency in the visible range. By using a special current pick-off circuit, we achieved a time resolution of 20 ps full width at half maximum at 120 K for a 50 mum diameter SPAD. Afterpulsing effects are avoided by using a sufficiently long hold-off time (microseconds).
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rech
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Labanca
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Armellini
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gulinatti
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghioni
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cova
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005615:Freezing; D017785:Photons; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012666:Semiconductors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012825:Silicon / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon