Load resistor effect on intermodulation distortion in CATV PINs

A computational model of carrier transport in PIN photodiodes has been developed to study the effects of the load resistance and diffusion profile on the nonlinear distortion performance of the device. The model employs the one dimensional finite difference method to solve the field and carrier continuity equations. The distortion was calculated for several values of input optical power, load resistance, and doping profile. These results are in good agreement with the experimentally measured results.