Towards picosecond resolution with single-photon avalanche diodes

Abstract

Avalanche p–n photodiodes with uniform breakdown over the junction area are known to be capable of single-photon detection. An experimental study has been performed on the temporal resolution of these single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) in measurements of the shape of ultrashort light pulses. By using an active-quenching circuit, pulsed operation of the device has been obtained in accurately controlled conditions, avoiding spurious effects met in previous passive-quenching circuits. Laser pulses with durations down to 150 ps FWHM have been used; the results obtained show that the resolution is remarkably better than this value. Performances and limitations of SPADs are discussed; temporal resolutions of a few tens of picoseconds may be expected.

Wide-field TCSPC: methods and applications

“…Single SPADs were first used for fast timing applications in the 1980s [130,131], and the implementation of SPADs in CMOS technology in 2003 enabled the development of SPAD arrays [132]. In the past decade a number of SPAD array image sensors have been developed, which simultaneously deliver single photon sensitivity, tens of thousands of pixels spatial resolution and picosecond timing resolution [57,133,134].…”

Photon-Timing Detector Module for Single-Molecule Spectroscopy With 60-ps Resolution

“…In the single molecule studies, high time resolution makes it possible to probe broader conformational distribution in a system where the fluorescence can be quenched by electron transfer (ET) [3] or fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) [5], [8]. In the Fre-FAD complex the fluorescence of the isoalloxazine chromophore is quenched by the nearby tyrosine through excited state electron transfer [16], [17]. Because the enzyme undergoes continuous conformational fluctuation, the change of the quenching rate due to the fluctuation of chromophore and quencher distance will result in multiple lifetime components of the single-molecule fluorescence decay.…”

“…Modern circuit technologies (up to monolithic integration of detector and ballast resistor) can make the recovery transient faster by reducing the stray capacitance and thus reduce the drawbacks, but they do not eliminate them. The solution that completely avoids these drawbacks is the active quenching circuit (AQC), first devised in 1975 [15], [16]. The AQC senses the leading edge of the avalanche current; it generates a standard output pulse, synchronous with the current onset; it quenches the avalanche by lowering the detector bias below the breakdown voltage; and it restores the photodiode voltage to the operative level after a well-defined hold-off time.…”

Avalanche Photodiodes in Submicron CMOS Technologies for High-Sensitivity Imaging

“…First introduced for the purposes of investigating microplasmas in p-n junctions under avalanche conditions , the diffused guard ring is a lower doped, deeper implant at the device periphery able to reduce the local electric field strength. This construction has since been implemented by several research groups (Cova et al, 1981;Kindt, 1994;Rochas et al, 2002;Niclass et al, 2007). Whilst enabling a low breakdown voltage using implants that are commonly available in most CMOS processes, this structure has several limitations.…”