I'll just get straight to the point - if you're faced with a photodiode measurement circuit design, you should check out our Photodiode Wizard design tool.
Photodiode Circuit Design Wizard | Analog Devices
Photodiodes are semiconductor devices that convert light into current - which doesn't sound very complicated, until you are faced with the challenge of figuring out how to measure that current.
Photodiodes generate relatively small amounts of current, and require amplifier circuit with a large gain. But, photodiode trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) design can get messy and tedious - the interaction between the high impedance photodiode and the op-amp is prone to oscillation or overshoot, and selecting an op amp (and calculating passive values) that results in a well-tuned circuit can be elusive.
Textbooks, App Notes, and articles can be educational, and extremely helpful when designing a photodiode amplification circuit. But, there's no way around the math - the equations can be tedious, and finding a suitable op-amp can require multiple iterations of calculations. (See the High Impedance Sensors section of the Op Amp Applications Handbook for an excellent review of design considerations and calculations)
Tedious iterations of calculations - sounds like a good job for a computer!
Have you used Photodiode Wizard for a photodiode TIA design? Did you find it useful? Let us know in the comments.
Related reading:
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Using SPICE to simulate you circuit? Simulate ADI devices easily in ADIsimPE.