A reconfigurable 224x272-pixel single-photon image sensor for photon timestamping, counting and binary imaging at 30.0-μm pitch in 110nm CIS technology

A 60k-pixel SPAD-based, multi-functional image sensor is designed and fabricated in a 110-nm CMOS image sensor technology. The 30.0-mu m pixel with 12.9% fill-factor can operate in multiple working modes to count photons with a 7-bit counter, to timestamp them with an in-pixel time-to-digital converter down to 184ps resolution and 8-bit depth, or to generate a fast sequence of 7 gated binary images. Thanks to its reconfigurability, up to 3kHz frame rate and less than 80 mW power consumption, the sensor can be applied to a large spectrum of applications: here its use in a Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy setup, in a quantum physics experiment, and in the acquisition of a high dynamic range scene are demonstrated.

Automated summary

A multi-functional image sensor based on SPAD technology and CMOS image sensor technology, which operates in multiple working modes, has wide application prospects in various fields.