Low-Noise Avalanche Photodiode in Standard 0.35-$\mu \hbox{m}$ CMOS Technology

In this paper, we report on an avalanche photodiode (APD) fabricated in a standard 0.35-mum CMOS technology. The main electrooptical characteristics of the device are presented, showing a remarkably low-noise factor if compared to other CMOS APDs. An estimation of the noise properties of a pixel based on the proposed photodiode with charge-amplifier readout is performed, showing that it could have an improved noise performance with respect to a standard photodiode-based pixel.