64 × 64 GM-APD array-based readout integrated circuit for 3D imaging applications

Abstract

Using the high sensitivity of the avalanche photodiode (APD) detector operated in the Geiger-mode (GM), an array readout integrated circuit (ROIC) comprising a two-segment time-to-digital converter (TDC) is employed for wide-dynamic time interval measurement, where a 1-bit low-segment TDC is implemented by discriminating a single-phase clock period. The proposed 64 $\times$ 64 GM-APD array ROIC fabricated using Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company (TSMC) 0.18-$\mu~$m complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology can operate at a maximum frequency of 500 MHz provided by an external phase-locked loop clock. The time resolution is reduced to $<1$ ns along with a maximum range of 4 $\mu~$s; the differential non-linearity (DNL) and integral non-linearity (INL) are restricted to approximately $-$0.15 to 0.15 least significant bit (LSB) and $-$0.3 to 0.32 LSB, respectively; and the power consumption is 490 mW under a frame rate of 20 kHz. The developed ROIC is successfully used in imaging applications in two different ways.