A reconfigurable $224\times 272$-pixel single-photon image sensor for photon timestamping, counting and binary imaging at $30.0-\mu \mathrm{m}$ pitch in 11 0nm CIS technology

Abstract

A 60k-pixel SP AD-based, multi-functional image sensor is designed and fabricated in a 110-nm CMOS image sensor technology. The $30.0-\mu \mathrm{m}$ 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 3 kHz 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.