SPAD Smart Pixel for Time-of-Flight and Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting Measurements

Author

Villa, F. ; Markovic, B. ; Bellisai, S. ; Bronzi, D. ; Tosi, A. ; Zappa, F. ; Tisa, S. ; Durini, D. ; Weyers, S. ; Paschen, U. ; Brockherde, W.

Author_Institution

Dipt. di Elettron. e Inf., Politec. di Milano, Milano, Italy

Volume

4

Issue

3

fYear

2012

fDate

6/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

795

Lastpage

804

Abstract

We present a smart pixel based on a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) for advanced time-of-flight (TOF) and time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) applications, fabricated in a cost-effective 0.35- m CMOS technology. The large CMOS detector (30- m active area diameter) shows very low noise (12 counts per second at room temperature at 5-V excess bias) and high efficiency in a wide wavelength range (about 50% at 410 nm and still 5% at 800 nm). The analog front-end electronics promptly senses and quenches the avalanche, thus leading to an almost negligible afterpulsing effect. The in-pixel 10-bit time-to-digital converter (TDC) provides 312-ps resolution and 320-ns full-scale range (FSR), i.e., 10-cm single-shot spatial resolution within 50-m depth range in a TOF system. The in-pixel 10-bit memory and output buffers make this smart pixel the viable building block for advanced single-photon imager arrays for 3-D depth ranging in safety and security applications and for 2-D fluorescence lifetime decays in biomedical imaging.

Keywords

CMOS integrated circuits; avalanche photodiodes; fluorescence; photon counting; smart pixels; 2D fluorescence lifetime decays; 3D depth ranging; CMOS detector; CMOS technology; SPAD smart pixel; analog front-end electronics; biomedical imaging; full scale range; output buffers; single photon avalanche diode; single photon imager arrays; size 0.35 mum; size 30 mum; temperature 293 K to 298 K; time-correlated single photon counting measurement; time-of-flight measurement; time-to-digital converter; voltage 5 V; wavelength 410 nm; wavelength 800 nm; word length 10 bit; CMOS integrated circuits; CMOS technology; Clocks; Detectors; Logic gates; Photonics; Timing; 2-D imaging; 3-D ranging; CMOS imager; fluorescence lifetime imaging; photon counting; photon timing; single photon detector; time of flight (TOF); time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC); time-to-digital converter;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Journal, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1943-0655

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JPHOT.2012.2198459

Filename

6198279