Politecnico Di Milano

Omron Corporation

International Business Machines Corporation

Carl Zeiss Jena Gmbh

Politecnico De Milano

Micro Photon Devices Srl

Franco Zappa

Massimo Antonio Ghioni

Sergio Cova

Federica Villa

Yuki Matsui

Ken Nakamuro

Rudi Lussana

Peilin Song

Franco Stellari

Thomas Hartmann

Alberto Tosi

Eberhard Derndinger

Robert Grub

Paola Taroni

Danilo Bronzi

Francesca Madonini

Fabio Severini

Federica Alberta Villa

Alessandro Torricelli

Davide Contini

Antonio Giovanni Pifferi

Laura Di Sieno

Enrico Conca

A system and method for detection, localization and signaling of single photon events and of at least two photons time coincidence events. The system includes at least one array of pixels, each of which includes a photodetector and a front-end electronics, which outputs a digital signal; at least one event detection electronics including: a plurality of digital-to-analog transducers, one for each pixel of the array, configured to convert the digital signal coming from the respective pixel in a corresponding analog signal, which is quantized in amplitude and duration; an analog adder node configured to sum the analog signals coming from the digital-to-analog transducers, obtaining a sum analog signal; and an overall analog-to-digital transducer. The system and method are ultimately configured to output a digital signal if an output signal of an analog adder node exceeds, respectively, a first threshold or the second threshold, allowing event detection, within a time window.

System and method for detection, localization and signaling of single photon events and of at least two photons time coincidence events

A distance measuring device includes a light emission portion for emitting light; a light receiving portion for receiving measurement light that is emitted by the light emission portion and reflected by a measurement object, the light receiving portion comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel having at least one light receiving portion and outputting a light reception signal that depends on the measurement light incident on the pixel; a discrimination portion for discriminating whether the pixel receives measurement light; a pixel output control portion for selectively outputting the light reception signal of each pixel individually, depending on the determination result of the discrimination portion; and an evaluation portion for receiving the light reception signals output by the pixel output control portion and outputting a distance signal that is indicative of a distance between the measuring device and the measurement object based on these light reception signals.

Distance measuring device and distance measuring method

A distance measuring device includes a light emission portion configured to emit light; a light receiving portion configured to receive measurement light that is emitted by the light emission portion and reflected by the measurement object, the light receiving portion comprising a plurality of pixels configured to output light reception signals that depend on the received measurement light; a plurality of determination portions configured to receive the light reception signals and to determine characteristic values from the received light reception signals, and an evaluation portion that is connected to the plurality of determination portions, the evaluation portion being configured to calculate a distance from the characteristic values determined by the determination portions. Each of the plurality of determination portions is configured to receive the light reception signals only from a plurality of non-adjacent pixels.

Distance measuring device

A Scanning Time-Resolved Emission (S-TRE) microscope or system includes an optical system configured to collect light from emissions of light generated by a device under test (DUT). A scanning system is configured to permit the emissions of light to be collected from positions across the DUT in accordance with a scan pattern. A timing photodetector is configured to detect a single photon or photons of the emissions of light from the particular positions across the DUT such that the emissions of light are correlated to the positions to create a time-dependent map of the emissions of light across the DUT.

Method and apparatus for creating time-resolved emission images of integrated circuits using a single-point single-photon detector and a scanning system

Photodetector device comprising a semiconductor substrate () of a first type of conductivity connected to a first electrode (). Said substrate comprises an active area () made up of different semiconductor regions of a second type of conductivity () insulated from each other and connected to respective second electrodes () so that each of them can be connected separately from the others to an appropriate bias voltage. By regulating the bias voltages applied to these regions the function of optic diaphragm of the device can be controlled. The device works without needing any form of optical insulation between the different regions of the active area and always uses the same single output electrode for the signal in all the different situations of diaphragm adjustment.

Ultrasensitive photodetector with integrated pinhole for confocal microscopes

It is an integrated circuit capable of determining the quenching and the reset of an avalanche photodiode operating in Geiger mode so as to detect single photons falling on the surface of said photodiode. The circuit scheme used makes possible to reduce the size of the circuit down to a single semiconductor chip, to reduce the power dissipation and to reduce the cost of the circuit, at the same time keeping the performance at good level.

Monolithic circuit of active quenching and active reset for avalanche photodiodes

The invention concerns an output circuit for extracting the avalanche pulse produced by an avalanche photodiode for single photon detection (Single Photon Avalanche Diode, SPAD), which makes possible to detect and measure with the best possible precision the time of arrival of an incident photon on the surface of said SPAD. The circuit is built with a coupling network, connected to a terminal of said SPAD biased at high voltage and a comparator. Said network is designed so that the differentiation time constant, introduced by said block, is less than the total duration of the avalanche current pulse, but longer than the risetime of said pulse (FIG. and FIG. ). The circuit object of the invention has the virtue of being usable in all the circuit configurations for avalanche quenching in SPADs described in the technical and scientific literature.

Circuit for high precision detection of the time of arrival of photons falling on single photon avalanche diodes

Growing community of inventors

Sesto San Giovanni, Italy

Franco Zappa