Design and characterization of a CMOS 3-D image sensor based on single photon avalanche diodes

• Published in: IEEE journal of solid-state circuits Vol. 40; no. 9; pp. 1847 - 1854
• Main Authors: Niclass, C., Rochas, A., Besse, P.-A., Charbon, E.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.09.2005; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: 3-D image sensor; 3-D vision; Applied sciences; Arrays; CMOS avalanche photodiodes; CMOS image sensors; Design engineering; Design. Technologies. Operation analysis. Testing; Detectors; Diodes; Electric power generation; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; General equipment and techniques; High speed optical techniques; highly sensitive photodetectors; Image sensors; Imaging; Imaging devices; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Integrated circuits; Layout; LIDAR; Optical arrays; Optical imaging; Optical sensors; Optoelectronic and photonic sensors; Optoelectronic devices; Photon avalanches; photon timing; Physics; rangefinder; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.); remote sensing; single photon detectors; SPAD arrays; Stimulated emission; time-correlated measurements; Performance evaluation; Light source; 3D imaging; 3-D vision; Operating mode; SPAD arrays; Picosecond; Measurement standards; Energy dissipation; Complementary MOS technology; Avalanche photodiodes; Optoelectronic device; highly sensitive photodetectors; single photon detectors; Stereoscopy; Measurement sensor; Imager; rangefinder; Optical sensor; Time measurement; Photodetector; time-correlated measurements; Three dimensional model; CMOS avalanche photodiodes; Pulsed laser; Time of flight method; 3-D image sensor; Lidar; Tridimensional image; photon timing
• ISSN: 0018-9200; 1558-173X
• DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2005.848173

The design and characterization of an imaging system is presented for depth information capture of arbitrary three-dimensional (3-D) objects. The core of the system is an array of 32 /spl times/ 32 rangefinding pixels that independently measure the time-of-flight of a ray of light as it is reflected back from the objects in a scene. A single cone of pulsed laser light illuminates the scene, thus no complex mechanical scanning or expensive optical equipment are needed. Millimetric depth accuracies can be reached thanks to the rangefinder's optical detectors that enable picosecond time discrimination. The detectors, based on a single photon avalanche diode operating in Geiger mode, utilize avalanche multiplication to enhance light detection. On-pixel high-speed electrical amplification can therefore be eliminated, thus greatly simplifying the array and potentially reducing its power dissipation. Optical power requirements on the light source can also be significantly relaxed, due to the array's sensitivity to single photon events. A number of standard performance measurements, conducted on the imager, are discussed in the paper. The 3-D imaging system was also tested on real 3-D subjects, including human facial models, demonstrating the suitability of the approach.