Silicon p-i-n photodetectors with integrated transistor amplifiers

A novel silicon photodetector is presented, incorporating transistor gain in a p-i-n photodiode and its performance is analyzed. Gain and noise power frequency characteristics are analytically derived in terms of an equivalent circuit. These analytical results are in good agreement with experimental results. Noise power is estimated and it is shown that, in the video frequency range, the S/N ratio is far superior to that of APD for relatively large signal levels. Detector operational features are described.