Localized field reduction and rate limitation in visible light photon counters
Alan D. Bross, Juan Estrada, P. Rubinov, C. Garcı́a, B. Hoeneisen · Applied Physics Letters · 2004
We observe the effect of localized field reduction (LFR) in visible light photon counters (VLPCs) by measuring the bias current of the device after a light pulse, and find it consistent with being produced by avalanches that have an average transverse dimension of ≈12μm2. The characteristic recovery time for the device after an avalanche is measured to be ≈3.5ms, and is a function of bias voltage and temperature. A simple model is presented to describe the performance drop of the VLPCs with rate as a consequence of LFR.