Patent ID: 9685576
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: H01L,H04N

Claim:
1. A photon detector, comprising: a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) disposed proximate to a front side of a first semiconductor layer, wherein the SPAD includes a multiplication junction defined at an interface between an n doped layer and a p doped layer of the SPAD in the first semiconductor layer, wherein the multiplication junction is reversed biased above a breakdown voltage such that light directed into the SPAD through a backside of the first semiconductor layer triggers an avalanche multiplication process in the multiplication junction; a guard ring disposed in the first semiconductor layer in a guard ring region proximate to the SPAD, wherein the guard ring surrounds the SPAD to isolate the SPAD in the first semiconductor layer; a guard ring region reflecting structure disposed in the guard ring region proximate to the guard ring and proximate to the front side of the first semiconductor layer such that light directed into the guard ring region through the backside of the first semiconductor layer that bypasses the SPAD is redirected by the guard ring region reflecting structure back into the first semiconductor layer and into the SPAD; and a SPAD region reflecting structure disposed proximate to the SPAD and proximate to the front side of the first semiconductor layer such that light directed into the first semiconductor layer through the backside of the first semiconductor layer that passes through the SPAD is reflected by the SPAD region reflecting structure back into the first semiconductor layer and into the SPAD, wherein the guard ring region reflecting structure is non-coplanar with the SPAD region reflecting structure.