The ability to detect single photons is becoming an enabling key capability in an increasing number of fields. Indeed, its scope is not limited to applications that specifically rely on single photons, such as quantum imaging, but extends to applications where a low signal is overwhelmed by background light, such as laser ranging, or in which faint excitation light is required not to damage the sample or harm the patient. In the last decades, SPADs gained popularity with respect to other single-photon detectors thanks to their small size, possibility to be integrated in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processes, room temperature operability, low power supply and, above all, the possibility to be fast gated (to time filter the incoming signal) and to precisely timestamp the detected photons. The development of large digital arrays that integrates the detectors and circuits has allowed the implementation of complex functionality on-chip, tailoring the detectors to suit the need of specific applications. This review proposes a complete overview of silicon SPADs characteristics and applications. In the previous Part I, starting with the working principle, simulation models and required frontend, the paper moves to the most common parameters adopted in literature for characterizing SPAD performance and describes single pixels applications and their performance. In this Part II, the focus is posed on the development of SPAD arrays, presenting some of the most notable examples found in literature. The actual exploitation of these designs in real applications (e.g., automotive, bioimaging and radiation detectors) is then discussed.

Historical Perspectives, State of Art and Research Trends of SPAD Arrays and Their Applications (Part II: SPAD Arrays)

In recent years, direct Time-of-Flight techniques have been exploited with single-photon detectors to provide long distance ranges and high-frame rates measurements. Detectors based on Silicon Photon Multipliers commonly collect repetitive laser shots to reconstruct a histogram of the TOF of returning pulsed-laser photons, so to discriminate between signal, background light, and detector noise. Instead of performing multi-shot measurements, we propose a single-shot technique capable to provide just one useful TOF per laser pulse, corresponding to the returning peak signal with the highest number of concurrent photons. In this way, ambient background photons and dark counts are rejected, being mostly randomly distributed over time compared to the laser pulse photons. Therefore, there is no need for repetitive laser shots, neither to acquire and store multiple TOFs, nor to post-process any TOF histogram, since each laser shot can provide the useful distance information. We present a sensor chip based on a pixel with 272 SPADs, which concurrently provide an analog signal to a peak detector triggering a multi-hit TDC each time the number of concurrent photons exceeds the previous peak. We report preliminary tests up to 25 m, rejecting 60 klux solar background, with > 95% single-shot success ratio.

Single-Shot Pulsed-LiDAR SPAD Sensor with on-chip Peak Detection for Background Rejection

Time-to-Digital Converters and histogram builders in SPAD arrays for pulsed-LiDAR

Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a sensor that can detect low-light signals lower than the single-photon level. In order to study the properties of neutrinos at a low detection threshold and low radioactivity experimental background, a low-temperature CsI neutrino coherent scattering detector is designed to be read by the SiPM sensor. Less thermal noise of SiPM and more light yield of CsI crystals can be obtained at the working temperature of liquid nitrogen. The breakdown voltage (Vbd) and dark count rate (DCR) of SiPM at liquid nitrogen temperature are two key parameters for coherent scattering detection. In this paper, a low-temperature test is conducted on the mass-produced ON Semiconductor J-Series SiPM. We design a cryogenic system for cooling SiPM at liquid nitrogen temperature and the changes of operating voltage and dark noise from room to liquid nitrogen temperature are measured in detail. The results show that SiPM works at the liquid nitrogen temperature, and the dark count rate drops by six orders of magnitude from room temperature (120 kHz/mm2) to liquid nitrogen temperature (0.1 Hz/mm2).

/pdf/characterization-of-a-mass-produced-sipm-at-liquid-nitrogen-1ng9i6yx.pdf

Characterization of a Mass-Produced SiPM at Liquid Nitrogen Temperature for CsI Neutrino Coherent Detectors

Counting single photons and measuring their arrival time is of crucial importance for imaging and quantum applications that use single photons to outperform classical techniques. The investigation of the coincidence, i.e. correlation, between photons can be used to enhance the resolution of optical imaging techniques or to transmit information using quantum cryptography. Time measurements at the state-of-the-art are performed using Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors (SNSPDs), the lowest timing jitter single-photon detectors, connected to digital oscilloscopes or digitizers. This method is not well adapted to the ever-increasing and pressing requirement to perform measurements on a high number of channels at the same time. We focus the high-performance measure of the arrival time of photons and their correlation by means of SNSPDs and a 16-channel Time-to-Digital Converter fully implemented in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). In this approach, the photons’ coincidence is analyzed in real-time directly in the FPGA, resulting in a Coincidence Time Resolution (CTR) of 22.8 ps r.m.s.. For the practical benefit of the scientific community, an extended and comprehensive panorama also of comparison with the actual available strategies in this field of applications is offered through a huge number of references. 

Assessment of the Bundle SNSPD Plus FPGA-Based TDC for High-Performance Time Measurements

Time-of-Flight (TOF) based Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a widespread technique for distance measurements in both single-spot depth ranging and 3D mapping. Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) detectors provide single-photon sensitivity and allow in-pixel integration of a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) to measure the TOF of single-photons. From the repetitive acquisition of photons returning from multiple laser shots, it is possible to accumulate a TOF histogram, so as to identify the laser pulse return from unwelcome ambient light and compute the desired distance information. In order to properly predict the TOF histogram distribution and design each component of the LiDAR system, from SPAD to TDC and histogram processing, we present a detailed statistical modelling of the acquisition chain and we show the perfect matching with Monte Carlo simulations in very different operating conditions and very high background levels. We take into consideration SPAD non-idealities such as hold-off time, afterpulsing, and crosstalk, and we show the heavy pile-up distortion in case of high background. Moreover, we also model non-idealities of timing electronics chain, namely, TDC dead-time, limited number of storage cells for TOF data, and TDC sharing. Eventually, we show how the exploit the modelling to reversely extract the original LiDAR return signal from the distorted measured TOF data in different operating conditions.

Statistical Modelling of SPADs for Time-of-Flight LiDAR

Time-resolved single-photon detection is a robust technique exploited in many fields, ranging from biology, e.g. in fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), to industrial fields, such as in Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). Such technique can take major advantage from Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) and their single-photon sensitivity and picosecond time-resolution. For best system design, environmental conditions and optics should be simulated along with SPAD’s actual parameters. Monte Carlo simulations are usually employed, being able to emulate detector’s non idealities and photons’ statistical behavior. However, those simulations are time-consuming. As an effective alternative, we present a detailed discrete-time statistical model for SPAD detectors. The proposed analytical model provides the expected photon time-distribution, given the actual incoming photon-rate, optical setup, laser power and pulse width, background light, object properties, and takes into account all SPAD’s nonidealities, such as hold-off time, crosstalk, afterpulsing, photon detection efficiency, and dark-counting rate. Moreover, the model can predict and correct one big limitation of SPAD systems, namely the detector dead-time (every time a photon is revealed, the SPAD needs to stay quenched for a not nil time interval), which causes distortion in the measured timing histogram, known as “pile-up”. To this purpose, we present how our reversed model can be applied to the measured histogram in order to compensate and correct such a distortion, so to estimate the actual incoming photon distribution. Eventually, the model can be used for both single photon Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) and multi-photon detection (free-running) regimes, whether the timing electronics has a dead-time shorter than the detector’s one, resulting in a powerful design tool.

SPAD-based time-of-flight discrete-time statistical model and distortion compensation

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Statistical Modelling of SPADs for Time-of-Flight LiDAR

SPAD-based time-of-flight discrete-time statistical model and distortion compensation