Patent ID: 8610231

Claim:
A photodiode array in which a plurality of photodetector channels are formed on a substrate having a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, with a light to be detected being incident to the plurality of photodetector channels, said photodiode array comprising: the substrate; an epitaxial semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type which is formed on the semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type of the substrate and has a plurality of multiplication regions for avalanche multiplication of carriers produced by the incidence of the light to be detected so that each of the multiplication regions corresponds to each of the photodetector channels; a diffusion region of a second conductivity type which is formed in the epitaxial semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type and forms a pn junction at the interface with the epitaxial semiconductor layer; channel surrounding parts each of which is comprised of a conductor, each of the channel surroundings parts arranged to surround an outer periphery of each of the photodetector channels, the channel surrounding part being connected to the diffusion region; and a resistor connecting the channel surrounding part and a reading part of a signal conductor, the resistor being arranged outside of the corresponding channel surrounding part, wherein the diffusion region, the channel surrounding part, the resistor and the reading part in each of the photodetector channels are sequentially connected in this order.