Single-photon image sensors

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to expose the EDA community to the emerging class of circuits operating with single quanta of energy (e.g. photons or electrical carriers). We describe recent developments in the field of single-photon detection and single-photon imaging based on the avalanche effect. Single-photon detection is useful in a number of applications, from time-of-flight based 3D vision systems to fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, from low-light cameras to quantum random number generators, from positron emission tomography to time-resolved Raman spectroscopy. These applications have speed and accuracy requirements that conventional systems cannot provide if not at a very high cost. EDA has not yet adapted to the revolution introduced by avalanching devices and, though tools capable of simulating these devices exist, there is little or no capability to do so in a coherent flow, let alone at system level. We challenge CAD designers to fill this gap and prepare them to the circuits of the future, quantum in nature but built in standard CMOS technology.