Wavelength and temperature-dependent characteristics of silicon reach-through avalanche photodiodes (RAPD) are studied using the modified Baraff's theory. The temperature and wavelength regions discussed are 100-500 K and 0.655-1.06 microm, respectively, for Si photodetectors. The effects of breakdown voltage, depletion region width, and efficiency on the avalanche region width are widely studied. Both n(+) (front) side and p(+) (back) side illumination are also considered. The noise equivalent power is significantly reduced with light incident on the p(+) surface with little sacrifice of efficiency. An RAPD structure is proposed in which the direction of radiation incidence causes photogeneration to precede avalanche multiplication reducing the multiplication noise substantially. This result should be useful in the design of RAPD laser detectors.