Low Noise and High Photodetection Probability SPAD in 180 nm Standard CMOS Technology

Accarino, Claudio; Al-Rawhani, Mohammed A.; Shah, Yash D.; Maneuski, D.; Mitra, Srinjoy; Buttar, C. M.; Cumming, David R. S.

doi:10.1109/iscas.2018.8351173

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Figure 9 shows the cumulative plot of the DCR at 1.4 V of overvoltage at room temperature. Almost 70% of the pixels have a dark count rate lower than 8 kHz, which is in line with other works [61,62]. Figure 10 shows a typical dark count profile of the SPAD sensor array at normal operation conditions.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

A Point-of-Care Device for Molecular Diagnosis Based on CMOS SPAD Detectors with Integrated Microfluidics

Canals¹,

Franch²,

Alonso³

et al. 2019

Sensors

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We describe the integration of techniques and technologies to develop a Point-of-Care for molecular diagnosis PoC-MD, based on a fluorescence lifetime measurement. Our PoC-MD is a low-cost, simple, fast, and easy-to-use general-purpose platform, aimed at carrying out fast diagnostics test through label detection of a variety of biomarkers. It is based on a 1-D array of 10 ultra-sensitive Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) detectors made in a 0.18 μm High-Voltage Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (HV-CMOS) technology. A custom microfluidic polydimethylsiloxane cartridge to insert the sample is straightforwardly positioned on top of the SPAD array without any alignment procedure with the SPAD array. Moreover, the proximity between the sample and the gate-operated SPAD sensor makes unnecessary any lens or optical filters to detect the fluorescence for long lifetime fluorescent dyes, such as quantum dots. Additionally, the use of a low-cost laser diode as pulsed excitation source and a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to implement the control and processing electronics, makes the device flexible and easy to adapt to the target label molecule by only changing the laser diode. Using this device, reliable and sensitive real-time proof-of-concept fluorescence lifetime measurement of quantum dot QdotTM 605 streptavidin conjugate is demonstrated.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

A Point-of-Care Device for Molecular Diagnosis Based on CMOS SPAD Detectors with Integrated Microfluidics

Canals¹,

Franch²,

Alonso³

et al. 2019

Sensors

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“…1, if the DNW was placed underneath the p-well to isolate the active region of the SPAD from the p-substrate, the n-well guard ring will touch the DNW, thus making the p-well anode of the SPAD inaccessible. Third, compared to breakdown voltages of the SPADs with a very low DCR (23.5 V in [10], 16.8 V in [30], 25.46 V in [31]), the three n + /p-well SPADs in this work have a relatively low breakdown voltage (∼12.1 V). This means that the doping concentrations of the n + layer and p-well in this 180 nm standard CMOS process are higher, thus leading to a thinner depletion region and a higher probability for tunneling noise, which is in agreement with the low activation energy values for three SPADs shown in Fig.…”

Section: Performance Summary and Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Several reasons could be responsible for the higher dark noise. First, the three SPADs in this work are implemented in a fully standard CMOS process and no special layers such as buried-N layer in [10], [11] and [17], or deep p-well layer [30] are available to isolate the active region of SPADs from the noisy bulk. Second, even though the DNW is available in this 180 nm process, it cannot be used in this n + /p-well SPAD design since the bottom of the n-well reaches the DNW in this process.…”

Section: Performance Summary and Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Noise Performance of CMOS Poly Gate Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes

2022

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The noise performance of three types of n + /p-well single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) fabricated in a standard 180 nm CMOS technology is studied. The SPADs had different poly gate configurations: no poly gate (SPAD_NG), a dummy floating poly gate (SPAD_DG), and a field poly gate connected to the n + cathode (SPAD_FG). The measurement results of dark count rate and afterpulsing showed that the SPAD_DG had better noise performance compared to the SPAD_NG. This is because the dummy poly gate pushed the shallow trench isolation away from the active region of the SPAD, thus reducing the dark noise generated from the Si-SiO 2 interface. The measurement results also revealed that the noise performance can be further improved by connecting the poly gate to the n + cathode. The voltage on the poly gate in SPAD_FG reduced the electric field in the n-well guard ring (GR) region, thus reducing the carriers from the GR region that can enter the active region of SPADs and initiate dark counts. Index Terms-Single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), guard ring, poly gate, dark count rate (DCR), afterpulsing (AP).

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“…Higher excess bias voltages also increase DCR since a higher electric field across the SPAD junction not only increases the likelihood of avalanche by photon detection, but also by noise sources. The DCR for current SPADs fabricated in CMOS technology can be optimized down to tens of Hz at room temperature [60,61].…”

Section: Silicon Photomultipliers (Sipms)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensors for Positron Emission Tomography Applications

Jiang

Chalich

Deen

2019

Sensors

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Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is an essential tool in clinical applications for the diagnosis of diseases due to its ability to acquire functional images to help differentiate between metabolic and biological activities at the molecular level. One key limiting factor in the development of efficient and accurate PET systems is the sensor technology in the PET detector. There are generally four types of sensor technologies employed: photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), avalanche photodiodes (APDs), silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), and cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors. PMTs were widely used for PET applications in the early days due to their excellent performance metrics of high gain, low noise, and fast timing. However, the fragility and bulkiness of the PMT glass tubes, high operating voltage, and sensitivity to magnetic fields ultimately limit this technology for future cost-effective and multi-modal systems. As a result, solid-state photodetectors like the APD, SiPM, and CZT detectors, and their applications for PET systems, have attracted lots of research interest, especially owing to the continual advancements in the semiconductor fabrication process. In this review, we study and discuss the operating principles, key performance parameters, and PET applications for each type of sensor technology with an emphasis on SiPM and CZT detectors—the two most promising types of sensors for future PET systems. We also present the sensor technologies used in commercially available state-of-the-art PET systems. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of these four types of sensors are compared and the research challenges of SiPM and CZT detectors are discussed and summarized.

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Low Noise and High Photodetection Probability SPAD in 180 nm Standard CMOS Technology

Cited by 11 publications

References 19 publications

A Point-of-Care Device for Molecular Diagnosis Based on CMOS SPAD Detectors with Integrated Microfluidics

A Point-of-Care Device for Molecular Diagnosis Based on CMOS SPAD Detectors with Integrated Microfluidics

Improved Noise Performance of CMOS Poly Gate Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes

Sensors for Positron Emission Tomography Applications

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