High Detection Rate Fast-Gated CMOS Single-Photon Avalanche Diode Module

We present a novel instrument for fast-gated operation of a 50 μm CMOS SPAD (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Single-Photon Avalanche Diode), driven by an integrated fast-gated active quenching circuit with transition times faster than 300 ps (20–80%). The ins...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marco Renna, Alessandro Ruggeri, Mirko Sanzaro, Federica Villa, Franco Zappa, Alberto Tosi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2020-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9169781/
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Summary:We present a novel instrument for fast-gated operation of a 50 &#x03BC;m CMOS SPAD (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Single-Photon Avalanche Diode), driven by an integrated fast-gated active quenching circuit with transition times faster than 300 ps (20&#x2013;80&#x0025;). The instrument is based on a custom system-in-package where the SPAD and its driving electronics are housed in a TO-8 package. The detector can be operated at repetition rates up to 160 MHz, with gate on-times as short as 500 ps, always guaranteeing a temporal response with 60 ps (FWHM) timing jitter and short exponential decay (53 ps time-constant). A dark-count rate as low as 1 cps is achieved operating the CMOS SPAD at 5 V above breakdown at a temperature of 263 K, still keeping the afterpulsing probability lower than 2&#x0025;, with only 50 ns hold-off time, thanks to the fast-gating driving electronics. The instrument is housed in a compact 5&#x00A0;&#x00D7;&#x00A0;4&#x00A0;&#x00D7;&#x00A0;8 cm<sup>3</sup> case and can be triggered by either an external or internal source. A USB link allows to adjust measurement parameters, SPAD bias voltage and operating temperature. The high re-configurability of the instrument and its state-of-the-art performance make it suitable for applications where high detection rates and low timing jitter are required.
ISSN:1943-0655