Effect of surface charge on the dark current of InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes

The effects of surface charge on the dark current of the separate-absorption-grading-charge-multiplication InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are discussed using drift-diffusion simulation. The dark current increases exponentially with the increasing of surface charge density, and gets multiplied, thus influencing the performance of the APDs, especially in Geiger mode. The mechanism of the surface charge leakage current is discussed, and a floating guard ring structure is proposed to suppress the influence of surface charge effectively.