Characterization and modeling of metal-resistance-semiconductor photodetectors

We report an extensive characterization of metal-resistance-semiconductor (MRS) photodetectors. Even if they look similar to avalanche photodiodes (APD), they have a peculiar resistive layer placed on top of the avalanching region, which makes the detector work as an ensemble of smaller devices, with separately stabilized operating bias. This feedback improves the uniformity of the multiplication gain, compared to conventional APDs. We describe the experimental procedure for the parameters extraction and derive a quantitative model of the detector's operation.