X-FAB's new generation of photodiodes significantly improves sensing sensitivity

     X-FAB Silicon Foundries has announced the introduction of four new high-performance photodiodes on its existing 180nm CMOS semiconductor process platform, XS018, which is specially optimized for optical sensors. It expands the product selection of photoelectric sensors and strengthens X-FAB's extensive product portfolio.

     Of the four new products, two are response enhanced photodiodes doafe and dobfpe, with increased sensitivity at UV, visible and infrared wavelengths (full spectrum). There are also two advanced UV-specific photodiodes, dosuv and dosuvr. The doafe is a full-spectrum sensor with a peak sensitivity of approximately 730nm. At 730nm, the device has A spectral response of 0.48A/W. Compared with the previous generation, the sensitivity of the new product is improved by about 15%, and the response is smoother, improving by more than 50%. In terms of applications, a variety of applications, including smoke detection, position sensing and spectral determination, can benefit from a significant increase in the performance of the photodiode.

     Unlike doafe, dobfpe, introduced together, performs particularly well in the red and near infrared (NIR) portions of the spectrum (peak sensitivity is about 770nm). The diodes in this family are insensitive to UV and blue light and have a unique spectral response with a distinct peak in the infrared (IR) region, making them ideal for proximity sensing applications. The new dobfpe provides enhanced sensitivity in the infrared (IR) range, which is approximately 25% better than X-FAB's previous dob devices. Especially when the sensor is increasingly placed under the glass panel trend, the device can achieve stronger performance and higher sensitivity in terms of proximity sensing.

     To expand the diversity of photodiode products, X-FAB also released a new advanced ultraviolet photodiode dosuv, which exhibits increased sensitivity in the UVC band (200nm to 280nm). At 260nm, the dosuv performs almost twice as well as any previous product. At 235nm, the spectral response reaches 0.16A/W. In addition, a reference design device called dosuvr was also released for DOSUV-based sensor development.

     These newly released photodiode devices offer similar fill factor and photocurrent values to the previous generation, while requiring approximately 20% less chip area, making them easier to integrate; Its small dark current value means that good signal integrity characteristics can be obtained. At the same time, the product supports the operating temperature range of -40℃ to 175℃.

     Heming Wei, X-FAB's optoelectronics Technology Market Manager, said: "These latest photodiodes have excellent performance, and the performance improvement for customers is equivalent to what can be expected from upgrading to a smaller process node. This highlights the excellence of our XS018 process platform in creating optoelectronic sensor components that surpass the performance and reliability of our competitors."