First-Arrival Differential Counting for SPAD Array Design

We present a novel architecture for the design of single-photon detecting arrays that captures relative intensity or timing information from a scene, rather than absolute. The proposed method for capturing relative information between pixels or groups of pixels requires very little circuitry, and th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mel White, Tianyi Zhang, Akshat Dave, Shahaboddin Ghajari, Alyosha Molnar, Ashok Veeraraghavan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-11-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/23/9445
Description
Summary:We present a novel architecture for the design of single-photon detecting arrays that captures relative intensity or timing information from a scene, rather than absolute. The proposed method for capturing relative information between pixels or groups of pixels requires very little circuitry, and thus allows for a significantly higher pixel packing factor than is possible with per-pixel TDC approaches. The inherently compressive nature of the differential measurements also reduces data throughput and lends itself to physical implementations of compressed sensing, such as Haar wavelets. We demonstrate this technique for HDR imaging and LiDAR, and describe possible future applications.
ISSN:1424-8220