Title :
A 9.8 μm sample and hold time to amplitude converter CMOS SPAD pixel
Author :
Parmesan, Luca ; Dutton, Neale A. W. ; Calder, Neil J. ; Holmes, Andrew J. ; Grant, Lindsay A. ; Henderson, Robert K.
Author_Institution :
Imaging Div., STMicroelectron., Edinburgh, UK
Abstract :
A 9.8μm pitch SPAD-based pixel is presented with a novel and scalable Sample and Hold (S/H) Time to Amplitude Converter (TAC) pixel architecture offering the potential to create high spatial resolution Time Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) image sensors in the future. This pixel pitch is an order of magnitude smaller than previous TCSPC pixels. The NMOS-only TAC performance is measured in a single point TCSPC optical experimental setup. 93ps LSB time resolution is obtained over 80ns dynamic range. Dynamic range limitations are discussed and improvements are suggested.
Keywords :
CMOS image sensors; avalanche photodiodes; photon counting; sample and hold circuits; time-digital conversion; CMOS SPAD pixel; NMOS only TAC; high spatial resolution image sensor; pitch SPAD based pixel; sample and hold circuit; size 9.8 mum; time correlated single photon counting image sensor; time-amplitude converter; CMOS integrated circuits; Dynamic range; Image sensors; Lasers; Photonics; Transistors; SPAD; Single Photon Avalanche Diode; TAC; TCSPC; Time Correlated Single Photon Counting; Time to Amplitude Converter;
Conference_Titel :
Solid State Device Research Conference (ESSDERC), 2014 44th European
Conference_Location :
Venice
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-4378-4
DOI :
10.1109/ESSDERC.2014.6948817
