InGaAs or Silicon Photodiodes for Visible Laser Detection?

Classically, this is an application that would only be suited to Si photodiodes; but if you find yourself looking for a device with greater temperature stability as an alternative to Si then look no further than our panchromatic InGaAs photodiodes.

Our range of IG17, IG22 and IG26 InGaAs photodiodes are not only an excellent choice for IR measurements, but their ability to detect from 400 nm and excellent temperature stability means they are also a great choice as a replacement for Silicon photodiodes in laser applications, especially for measurements above 900 nm where Silicon’s temperature dependence starts to deviate from the ideal <0.1%/K value.

In this situation InGaAs is an attractive option providing a constant temperature coefficient of <0.1%/K across a broad range of wavelengths. In our measurements the IG22 series is recorded as having a coefficient of 0.002%/K.