Measurement and comparison of complex impedance of silicon p-i-n photodiodes at different temperatures

The dark alternating current (ac) parameters of BPW34 and BPW41 (Vishay-Telefunken) silicon p-i-n photodiodes are measured and compared at different temperatures using the impedance spectroscopy technique. The impedance plots are nearly semicircular and typically distorted on the high frequency side. For BPW41, the distortion apparently arises from one of the two interfaces as expected for a typical p-i-n device. However, for BPW34, the presence of the distortion is attributed to the variation of photodiode capacitance and resistance with measurement frequency.