Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Photodiode

Photodiode technology developments came out of the basic developments of the PN junction diode that started in the 1940s in earnest. Applications for the use of the PN junction diode were found outside the basic use of rectifying signals. It was found that they could be used for many photonic applications - photodiodes, solar cells and light emission.
Photodiode technology was refined in the 1950s and in the latter part of that decade the PIN photodiode was developed. Light absorption in the wide depletion area of the PIN structure was first investigated in a paper published in 1959 by Gartner. Although silicon has been the favoured material for photodiodes, germanium can also be used, and its use was first demonstrated in 1962 by Riesz.
While PIN photodiode technology has been the most widely used format for diodes, other types including the avalanche diode were also demonstrated. The first step along the road was undertaken in 1953 by McAfee and McKay who first addressed the concept of avalanche multiplication and later work appeared on avalanche photodiodes in 1963 and the following years.
Another form of photodiode, named the Schottky photodiode has also been addressed. Some of the first research on point contact photodetectors appears to have been undertaken around 1962, and later diodes using evaporated metals films were also studied.













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