Analytical Model of Dark Count Rate in Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes

In this article, an analytical model is proposed for the dark count rate (DCR) of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), including a nonlocal model for tunneling rate calculation instead of a local one. The nonlocal tunneling model takes into account the change in the electric field over the tunneling path by means of a triangularly shaped potential barrier. For SPADs implemented in 150- and 180-nm standard CMOS technologies, as far as DCR is concerned, the nonlocal model is shown to be in better agreement with the reported experimental results in comparison with the local tunneling model.