Improved Noise Performance of CMOS Poly Gate Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes

Jiang, Wei; Scott, Ryan P.; Deen, M. Jamal

doi:10.1109/jphot.2021.3128055

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Figure 11 shows the DCR map for the multi-time-gated array when the excess bias is 0.8 V. The median DCR of the array was determined to be ~37 kHz (i.e., pixel D1). This level of DCR is reasonable for SPADs designed in standard CMOS processes [18][19][20]. From Figure 11, it can also be seen that the measured array demonstrated one "hot-pixel" whose noise (123.6 kHz) is notably higher than the rest of the array (i.e., pixel A3).…”

Section: Dark Count Ratesupporting

confidence: 55%

A Multi-Time-Gated SPAD Array with Integrated Coarse TDCs

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Time-gating of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) was commonly used as a method to reduce dark noise in biomedical imaging applications where photon events are correlated with a reference clock. Time-gating was also used to obtain timing information of photon events by shifting the gate windows applied to a SPAD array. However, in this approach, fine timing resolution comes at the cost of a lengthened measurement time due to the large number of counts required for each shift. As a solution, we present a multi-time-gated SPAD array that simultaneously applies shifted gate windows to an array of SPADs, which has the potential to reduce the measurement time compared to a single time gate window. Compared to similar works, this design has fully integrated the multi-gate generation using shared circuitry which also functions as a coarse time-to-digital converter. The proposed array, fabricated in the TSMC 65 nm standard CMOS process, achieved a median dark count rate (DCR) of 37 kHz, 4.37 ns gate widths, 550 ps timing resolution, and a peak photon detection probability (PDP) of 42.9% at 420 nm, all at a 0.8 V excess bias.

show abstract

Section: Dark Count Ratesupporting

confidence: 55%

A Multi-Time-Gated SPAD Array with Integrated Coarse TDCs

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…When there is no light, the carriers from different mechanisms can become energetic in the high electric field, initiating impact ionizations and generating pulses that are indistinguishable from photon-induced output pulses. In modern CMOS technologies, SPADs’ DCR can have a large range from tens of Hertz to hundreds of kiloHertz [ 1 , 18 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. The DCR can originate from various mechanisms, including band-to-band thermal generation, trap-assisted thermal generation, trap-assisted tunneling, and band-to-band tunneling.…”

Section: Spad Operational Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The size of SPADs also plays an important role in PDP models as SPADs need guard rings to avoid premature edge breakdown (PEB), especially when the doping concentration is increasingly higher in advanced CMOS technologies [ 29 , 47 , 78 , 79 ]. With the guard rings around the active region, the doping concentration near the edge of the junction may decrease to a much smaller value.…”

Section: Pdp Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Modeling for Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes: State-of-the-Art and Research Challenges

Qian

Jiang

Elsharabasy

et al. 2023

Sensors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With the growing importance of single-photon-counting (SPC) techniques, researchers are now designing high-performance systems based on single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). SPADs with high performances and low cost allow the popularity of SPC-based systems for medical and industrial applications. However, few efforts were put into the design optimization of SPADs due to limited calibrated models of the SPAD itself and its related circuits. This paper provides a perspective on improving SPAD-based system design by reviewing the development of SPAD models. First, important SPAD principles such as photon detection probability (PDP), dark count rate (DCR), afterpulsing probability (AP), and timing jitter (TJ) are discussed. Then a comprehensive discussion of various SPAD models focusing on each of the parameters is provided. Finally, important research challenges regarding the development of more advanced SPAD models are summarized, followed by the outlook for the future development of SPAD models and emerging SPAD modeling methods.

show abstract

“…During the dead time, the SPAD cannot respond to other incident photons. SPADs with active quench and reset (AQR) circuit have a hold-off time between the quench and reset process to reduce the secondary dark counts, which is also called afterpulsing effect [9]. By varying the hold-off time, one can adjust the duration of the dead time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-Controlled SPAD Receivers in Optical Wireless Communication System

Liu,

Jiang,

Kumar

et al. 2023

IEEE Photonics J.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) capable of single photon detection are promising optical sensors for use as receivers in optical wireless communication (OWC) systems. In SPAD-based receivers, the intersymbol interference (ISI) effect caused by dead time is an important drawback that limits performance. In this paper, we propose two novel SPAD operation modes to reduce the ISI effect in SPAD-based OWC. To validate the feasibility of these two modes, we designed a freerunning SPAD front-end circuit with post-layout transient simulation results and some measurements to show its function and performance. This SPAD circuit is improved by a novel mixed passive-active quench and reset front-end circuit that achieves a very short dead time. Based on the traditional freerunning mode, we design the clock-driven mode and time-gated mode to reduce the ISI effect through time-controlled operating signals. To accurately evaluate these three modes, we develop a new simulation system to assess the ISI effect in On-Off Keying (OOK) modulated communication. The simulation results demonstrate that the clock-driven mode and time-gated mode receivers can improve the bit error rate (BER) performance in low data rate communication and high data rate high optical power communication, respectively. Moreover, compared to the free-running mode, the two proposed time-controlled modes achieve higher data rate communication and better noise tolerance ability in SPAD-based OWC.

show abstract

Improved Noise Performance of CMOS Poly Gate Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes

Cited by 17 publications

References 33 publications

A Multi-Time-Gated SPAD Array with Integrated Coarse TDCs

A Multi-Time-Gated SPAD Array with Integrated Coarse TDCs

Modeling for Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes: State-of-the-Art and Research Challenges

Time-Controlled SPAD Receivers in Optical Wireless Communication System

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About