Temperature, Current, and Voltage Dependences of Junction Failure in PIN Photodiodes

A PIN photodiode having a low dark current of 1.35 nA and a high external quantum efficiency of 95.3% fabricated for a passive optical network receiver. As the current was increased under a high voltage of 38 V and a temperature of $190^{\circ}C$, it was observed that there is a threshold current at 11 mA which induces a junction failure. Experimental data suggest that the junction failure occurs due to the crystal breaking at the end facet as a result of thermal heat or energetic carriers. This threshold behavior of junction failure is a valuable observation for the safe treatment of photodiodes. As long as the current is limited below the threshold currents, we have not observed failure events of our photodiodes.