Indirect Time-of-Flight with GHz Correlation Frequency and Integrated SPAD Reaching Sub-100 µm Precision in 0.35 µm CMOS
<p>(<b>a</b>) Schematic of an integrator-based analog correlator circuit. Logic combinations for the different switch positions are depicted with dashed lines; (<b>b</b>) integration of photon pulses and <span class="html-italic">V<sub>clk</sub></span> over time <span class="html-italic">t</span> with photon pulses marked as vertical black lines.</p> "> Figure 2
<p>Basic principle of iTOF measurement with our correlation approach: (<b>a</b>) probabilities for receiving a signal photon pulse <span class="html-italic">P<sub>opt</sub></span> or a background light photon pulse <span class="html-italic">P<sub>bgl</sub></span> with shown photon pulses and <span class="html-italic">V<sub>clk</sub></span> over time <span class="html-italic">t</span>; (<b>b</b>–<b>e</b>) integration of these photons for four different phase steps <span class="html-italic">Θ</span> with plotted <span class="html-italic">V<sub>cnt</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">t</span>; (<b>f</b>) <span class="html-italic">V<sub>cnt</sub></span> end values merged to a correlation triangle.</p> "> Figure 3
<p>Analog correlator circuit consisting of (<b>a</b>) decision logic; (<b>b</b>) current steering switches; (<b>c</b>) integrator with reset.</p> "> Figure 4
<p>Photomicrograph of the fabricated prototype, with marked SPAD, quenching circuit, and correlators.</p> "> Figure 5
<p>Measurement setup.</p> "> Figure 6
<p>Standard deviation <span class="html-italic">σ<sub>d</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">P<sub>opt</sub></span> for different <span class="html-italic">T<sub>int</sub></span>.: (<b>a</b>) with 32 phase steps, <span class="html-italic">V<sub>step</sub></span> = 30 µV; (<b>b</b>) with 16 phase steps, <span class="html-italic">V<sub>step</sub></span> = 30 µV; (<b>c</b>) with 8 phase steps, <span class="html-italic">V<sub>step</sub></span> = 30 µV; (<b>d</b>) with 4 phase steps, <span class="html-italic">V<sub>step</sub></span> = 30 µV; (<b>e</b>) with 32 phase steps, <span class="html-italic">V<sub>step</sub></span> = 1 mV.</p> "> Figure 7
<p>Minimum standard deviation <span class="html-italic">σ<sub>d,min</sub></span> over total measurement time <span class="html-italic">T<sub>meas</sub></span>.</p> "> Figure 8
<p>(<b>a</b>) Distance <span class="html-italic">d<sub>set</sub></span> and averaged measured distance <span class="html-italic">d<sub>mean</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">d<sub>set</sub></span>; (<b>b</b>) measurement of <span class="html-italic">INL</span>.</p> "> Figure 9
<p>(<b>a</b>) Integral nonlinearity <span class="html-italic">INL</span> over <span class="html-italic">P<sub>opt</sub></span> for different <span class="html-italic">T<sub>int</sub></span>; (<b>b</b>) maximum of <span class="html-italic">INL</span> and <span class="html-italic">σ<sub>d</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">P<sub>opt</sub></span> for different <span class="html-italic">T<sub>int</sub></span>.</p> "> Figure 10
<p>Measurements with added background light using 32 phase steps and a <span class="html-italic">T<sub>int</sub></span> of 1.78 ms: (<b>a</b>) standard deviation <span class="html-italic">σ<sub>d</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">P<sub>opt</sub></span> for different <span class="html-italic">P<sub>bgl</sub></span>; (<b>b</b>) standard deviation <span class="html-italic">σ<sub>d</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">BSR</span> for different <span class="html-italic">P<sub>bgl</sub></span>.</p> "> Figure 11
<p>Standard deviation <span class="html-italic">σ<sub>d</sub></span> over <span class="html-italic">P<sub>opt</sub></span> for different <span class="html-italic">V<sub>ex</sub></span> with 32 phase steps and a <span class="html-italic">T<sub>int</sub></span> of 1.78 ms.</p> ">
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. iTOF with Analog Single-Photon Correlation
3. Circuit Design
4. Measurement Setup
5. Measurements and Results
5.1. Precision at Optical Signal Power
5.2. Nonlinearity at Optical Signal Power
5.3. Background Light Suppression
5.4. Dependence on SPAD Excess Voltage Vex
6. Discussion
7. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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This Work | [1] | [2] | [3] | [9] | [11] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | iTOF | dTOF | dTOF | dTOF | iTOF | iTOF |
Detector | SPAD | SPAD | SPAD | SPAD | PPD | SPAD |
Year | 2023 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2022 |
Techn. | 0.35 µm | 0.35 µm | 0.18 µm | 0.15 µm | 0.11 µm | 0.35 µm |
Pixels | 1 | 9 × 9 | 252 × 144 | 50 × 40 | 192 × 4 | 1 |
Chip size | 1 × 1.4 mm2 (1) | 2.5 × 4 mm2 | 21 × 10 mm2 | 3.3 × 2.9 mm2 | 9 × 7 mm2 | 1.4 × 1.4 mm2 |
σd/RMS | 70 µm | <1 mm (2) | 1.4 mm | <1.6 mm | 64 µm | 1 mm |
@ Popt | 80 pW | 25 pW (3) | - | - | - | 80 pW |
@ Tmeas | 57 ms | 10 ms (4) | 33 ms (5) | 1 ms (5) | 40 ms | 8 s |
INL | <0.2 mm | ±0.5 mm | 8.8 mm | <19 mm | 0.25 mm | - |
Range | 150 mm (6) | 34 m | 50 m (7) | 7.5 m | 25 mm | 2.4 m (6) |
fmod/pulse rate | 1 GHz | 100 kHz | 40 MHz | 10 MHz | 12.5 MHz | 62.5 MHz |
Pulse width | - | 100 ps | 40 ps | 150 ps | 80 ps | - |
λ | 783 nm | 810 nm | 637 nm | 650 nm | 473 nm | 783 nm |
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Hauser, M.; Zimmermann, H.; Hofbauer, M. Indirect Time-of-Flight with GHz Correlation Frequency and Integrated SPAD Reaching Sub-100 µm Precision in 0.35 µm CMOS. Sensors 2023, 23, 2733. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052733
Hauser M, Zimmermann H, Hofbauer M. Indirect Time-of-Flight with GHz Correlation Frequency and Integrated SPAD Reaching Sub-100 µm Precision in 0.35 µm CMOS. Sensors. 2023; 23(5):2733. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052733
Chicago/Turabian StyleHauser, Michael, Horst Zimmermann, and Michael Hofbauer. 2023. "Indirect Time-of-Flight with GHz Correlation Frequency and Integrated SPAD Reaching Sub-100 µm Precision in 0.35 µm CMOS" Sensors 23, no. 5: 2733. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052733