A Time-Resolved, Low-Noise Single-Photon Image Sensor Fabricated in Deep-Submicron CMOS Technology

Author

Gersbach, Marek ; Maruyama, Yuki ; Trimananda, Rahmadi ; Fishburn, Matt W. ; Stoppa, David ; Richardson, Justin A. ; Walker, Richard ; Henderson, Robert ; Charbon, Edoardo

Author_Institution

Ecole Polytech. Fed. de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Volume

47

Issue

6

fYear

2012

fDate

6/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1394

Lastpage

1407

Abstract

We report on the design and characterization of a novel time-resolved image sensor fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS process. Each pixel within the 3232 pixel array contains a low-noise single-photon detector and a high-precision time-to-digital converter (TDC). The 10-bit TDC exhibits a timing resolution of 119 ps with a timing uniformity across the entire array of less than 2 LSBs. The differential non-linearity (DNL) and integral non-linearity (INL) were measured at ±0.4 and ±1.2 LSBs, respectively. The pixel array was fabricated with a pitch of 50 μm in both directions and with a total TDC area of less than 2000 μm². The target application for this sensor is time-resolved imaging, in particular fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and 3D imaging. The characterization shows the suitability of the proposed sensor technology for these applications.

Keywords

CMOS image sensors; fluorescence; image resolution; photodetectors; time resolved spectroscopy; time-digital conversion; timing; 3D imaging; TDC; deep submicron CMOS technology; differential nonlinearity; fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; integral nonlinearity; photon detector; pixel array; size 130 nm; time 119 ps; time resolved image sensor; time resolved imaging; time-to-digital converter; timing resolution; timing uniformity; Arrays; Clocks; Delay; Delay lines; Imaging; Photonics; Synchronization; FCS; FLIM; SPAD; Single-photon imaging; TDC; fluorescence correlation spectroscopy; fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; single-photon avalanche diode; time-of-flight; time-resolved imaging; time-to-digital converter;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9200

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JSSC.2012.2188466

Filename

6176268