High Dynamic Range Photo-Detection Module Using On-Chip Dual Avalanche Photodiodes

In this work, a high dynamic range APD-based photo-detection module is designed and developed. In the design, on-chip dual avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are fabricated with one biased to work in linear mode and the other one biased to work in single photon mode. The APD operating in linear mode is connected to a two-stage amplifier I-V conversion circuit and the APD operating in single photon mode is connected to a custom designed active quench and reset integrated circuit. The design enables the two on-chip APDs operate in different modes simultaneously without user intervention. This simplifies the system operation and a wide range of incident light intensities can be easily detected. Experimental results show that a high dynamic range of 164.2 dB is achieved by the module.