Dynamic-quenching of a single-photon avalanche photodetector using an adaptive resistive switch (Featured Article)

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One of the most common approaches for quenching single-photon avalanche diodes is to use a passive resistor in series with it. A drawback of this approach has been the limited recovery speed of the single-photon avalanche diodes. High resistance is needed to quench the avalanche, leading to slower recharging of the single-photon avalanche diodes depletion capacitor. We address this issue by replacing a fixed quenching resistor with a bias-dependent adaptive resistive switch. Reversible generation of metallic conduction enables switching between low and high resistance states under unipolar bias. As an example, using a Pt/Al2O3/Ag resistor with a commercial silicon single-photon avalanche diodes, we demonstrate avalanche pulse widths as small as ~ 30?ns, 10x smaller than a passively quenched approach, thus significantly improving the single-photon avalanche diodes frequency response. The experimental results are consistent with a model where the adaptive resistor dynamically changes its resistance during discharging and recharging the single-photon avalanche diodes.

Recommended citation: Zheng, Jiyuan, Xingjun Xue, Cheng Ji, Yuan Yuan, Keye Sun, Daniel Rosenmann, Lai Wang, Jiamin Wu, Joe C. Campbell, and Supratik Guha. “Dynamic-quenching of a single-photon avalanche photodetector using an adaptive resistive switch.” Nature Communications 13, no. 1 (2022): 1-12.