Digital Alloy Avalanche Photodiodes

Recently, using Al
_x
In
_1-y
As
_y
Sb
_1-y
grown as a digital alloy we have demonstrated APDs with noise as low as Si at telecommunication wavelengths (1300 nm to 1550 nm). In this paper, we a noise suppression mechanism in digital alloys. This is related to the fundamental issue of transport in ordered materials and provides the potential for "designer APDs" covering a broad range of spectral bands.