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The article addresses the development of highly sensitive, low-light and efficient, miniature single-photon sensor technology based on Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) arrays, its integration on a Flash Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system mounted on a custom built multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) platform, for the collection of real time imagery and performance of neuromorphic processing for accurate target detection and classification.

This paper presents a novel low EMI technique to regulate the output voltage of fullyintegrated switched capacitor Dickson type step-up DC/DC converters for SPAD arrays implemented in the Silterra 0.13 µm HV-CMOS process. SPAD sensors are extremely sensitive to EMI and therefore require careful biasing. This design utilises current sources to limit the current flow into the flying capacitors altering the converter ratio and reduces the discontinuous pulse currents associated with capacitive converters. A variable voltage-controlled reference current enables output voltage regulation. The proposed four stage converter boosts 3.3 V up to an adjustable 15 V output voltage. A typical Dickson converter regulated by frequency control and the proposed current controlled converter were designed and manufactured to compare performance. Measurements confirm that the proposed design reduces the output ripple by more than 2 V when compared to the typical converter. The inclusion of the proposed voltage regulation technique reduces EMI which enables this fully-integrated Dickson charge pump to bias sensor arrays where the noise typically produced by these converters currently restricts or prohibits their use.INDEX TERMS SPAD sensors arrays, integrated charge-pump, current control, voltage regulation, monolithic switched-capacitor dc-dc converters, switching noise, Dickson charge pump.

Experiments were conducted during four days in January and February 2001 at Tucson AZ, to measure the performance of an optical wireless link between two telescopes 8.7 km apart. The transmission rate was OC-3 (155 Mbps) and the maximum total radiated power was 29 dBm.Extreme fluctuations in the received 1550-nm beam were observed, and these occasionally caused error bursts. The error bursts had frequencies (a maximum of 12 per hour) and durations (mostly < 1 sec.) that were low enough to permit data transmission, e.g. via Ethernet TCP/IP. Fluctuations in the power of the 1550-nm received beam were positively correlated with variations in the elevation centroid. No correlations with meteorological measurements were found.