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Description
With the integration of Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) in conventional CMOS technology, the design of scalable single photon imagers has become possible. SPAD pixels exhibit high sensitivity, dynamic range and low jitter, thus enabling new as well as conventional applications. Moreover, due to the digital nature of SPAD detectors, the imager architecture may be significantly simplified with the elimination of traditional components such as amplifiers, S/Hs, and ADCs as well as complex readout schemes and 1/f or FPN suppression techniques.
As an illustration of the potential of SPADs, a 3D imager is presented capable of capturing the depth map of an arbitrary scene. Depth is measured by computing the time-of-flight of a ray of light as it leaves the source and is reflected by the objects in the scene. The round-trip time is converted to digital code independently for each pixel using a CMOS time-to-digital converter. To reach millimetric accuracies an array of 32x32 SPADs is used. The scene is illuminated using a cone of low power pulsed laser light, thus no mechanical scanning devices or expensive optical equipment are required.
Organiser(s): A. Cattai / PH-MIC Group
As an illustration of the potential of SPADs, a 3D imager is presented capable of capturing the depth map of an arbitrary scene. Depth is measured by computing the time-of-flight of a ray of light as it leaves the source and is reflected by the objects in the scene. The round-trip time is converted to digital code independently for each pixel using a CMOS time-to-digital converter. To reach millimetric accuracies an array of 32x32 SPADs is used. The scene is illuminated using a cone of low power pulsed laser light, thus no mechanical scanning devices or expensive optical equipment are required.
Organiser(s): A. Cattai / PH-MIC Group