SwissSPAD2/3: a family of natively digital, time gated SPAD cameras with continuous streaming at up to 100 kpfs and picosecond system-level synchronization for quantum imaging applications

Paul Mos; Michael A. Wayne; Andrei Ardelean; Arin C. Ulku; Edoardo Charbon; Claudio Bruschini

doi:10.1117/12.2692931

13 March 2024 SwissSPAD2/3: a family of natively digital, time gated SPAD cameras with continuous streaming at up to 100 kpfs and picosecond system-level synchronization for quantum imaging applications

Paul Mos, Michael A. Wayne, Andrei Ardelean, Arin C. Ulku, Edoardo Charbon, Claudio Bruschini

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12912, Quantum Sensing, Imaging, and Precision Metrology II; 129120Q (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2692931
Event: SPIE Quantum West, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The SwissSPAD2/3 camera family is based on quarter megapixel single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) time gated imagers. The 16.38-µm low-noise pixels feature a single-bit memory and built-in all-solid-state nanosecond time gating without the need for external image intensifiers. Microlenses have also been made available to increase the overall system sensitivity, including for high NA applications. SwissSPAD2/3 are coupled to FPGA platforms enabling a virtually noiseless streaming at up to 100 kpfs. A 1-bit accumulation of frames to reconfigurable number of bits was programmed on the FPGA for applications such as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). In other applications, a burst-mode read-out of 130,000 binary frames to a DDD3 memory of one sensor half was programmed on one FPGA for applications requiring full bitplanes. These initial configurations were extended to dual-FPGA systems capable of streaming data at near 100 kfps in continuous mode for long acquisition times. In such configuration one FPGA streams data from one sensor half to the other FPGA, which then sends the combined data stream to a host PC over PCIe at up to 3 GB/s. The eight PCIe lanes require careful design with differential routing and controlled impedance and the whole development presented significant hardware and firmware challenges. We also achieved full synchronization of two SwissSPAD2 camera systems over PCIe and characterized the pixel-to-pixel exposure timing alignment error to better than 150 ps with a time gate of 10 ns. The resulting platforms are unique enablers for quantum imaging applications, such as plenoptic maging, quantum LIDAR or quanta burst photography.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Paul Mos, Michael A. Wayne, Andrei Ardelean, Arin C. Ulku, Edoardo Charbon, and Claudio Bruschini "SwissSPAD2/3: a family of natively digital, time gated SPAD cameras with continuous streaming at up to 100 kpfs and picosecond system-level synchronization for quantum imaging applications", Proc. SPIE 12912, Quantum Sensing, Imaging, and Precision Metrology II, 129120Q (13 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2692931

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