Paper

My Ninth Paper

This work was presented at the 2022 17th Conference on Ph.D Research in Microelectronics and Electronics (PRIME). I really enjoyed attending this conference and it was my first in person conference, as the others were under COVID restrictions. I met some fantastic people and enjoyed seeing how other people use photodetection methods to further the field.

Abstract

The process used to detect individual photons in passively quenched Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) creates a nonlinear response. A model is presented to show this nonlinearity is an unavoidable consequence of microcells recharging after a detection. However, results are presented which show the nonlinearity is increased by the inclusion of an anode readout resistor. Removal of this resistor improves ambient light performance of communication links by a factor of 1.9 under 300 mWm$^{−2}$ of total 405 nm irradiance.

Key Findings

This paper examines the impact of anode resistance on the Fast Output of SiPMs. By reducing ambient light with filters, the anode resistance of SiPMs is analyzed, showing that lower resistance leads to decreased recharge time, higher overall bandwidth, improved saturation performance, and higher time-average PDE. The SiPMs also allow for combining multiple units without sacrificing bandwidth. However, the nonlinearity caused by microcell recharging remains a concern for OOK and OFDM modulation in VLC. Understanding this nonlinearity is crucial for developing optimal pre- and post-equalization methods to enable high-speed VLC transmission in challenging environments.