US Patent 7348607 Planar avalanche photodiode

The present invention includes a planar avalanche photodiode having a first n-type semiconductor layer defining a planar contact area, and a second n-type semiconductor layer having a p-type diffusion region. Further features of the structure includes an n-type semiconductor multiplication layer, an n-type semiconductor absorption layer, and a p-type contact layer. Further embodiments include a planar avalanche photodiode having a first n-type semiconductor layer defining a planar contact area, an n-type semiconductor multiplication layer, an n-type semiconductor absorption layer and a p-type semiconductor layer electrically coupled to a p-type contact layer.