An In-Pixel Ambient Suppression Method for Direct Time of Flight

This letter proposes a novel single photon avalanche diode (SPAD)-based pixel, designed for direct Time-of-Flight (ToF) imaging with in-pixel averaging, which provides a promising advancement in low-power and potentially high image resolution for outdoor applications. By utilizing a laser pulse and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE sensors letters 2024-10, Vol.8 (10), p.1-4
Main Authors: Morsy, Ayman, Baijot, Cedric, Jegannathan, Gobinath, Lapauw, Thomas, Dries, Thomas Van den, Kuijk, Maarten
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Avalanche diodes
Capacitors
electromagnetic wave sensors
Error detection
Image resolution
Laser arrays
Laser pulses
LiDAR
Light sources
Photon avalanches
Photonics
Pixels
Sensor systems
Sensors
single photon avalanche diode (SPAD)
Single-photon avalanche diodes
Switches
Time of Flight (ToF)
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Summary:This letter proposes a novel single photon avalanche diode (SPAD)-based pixel, designed for direct Time-of-Flight (ToF) imaging with in-pixel averaging, which provides a promising advancement in low-power and potentially high image resolution for outdoor applications. By utilizing a laser pulse and two orthogonal sinusoidal signals, the pixel averages out the detected ambient light while accumulating the laser pulse round-trip time. A prototype pixel array was fabricated using a 180 nm CMOS process, featuring a commercial SPAD cell. By characterizing one pixel and employing a 100 klux solar emulator as an ambient light source with a fixed 40 ambient-to-signal ratio over a 360^{\circ } phase shift, equivalent to 6 m detection range, the maximum detected accuracy error was 3.3%, with a 5 cm precision.
ISSN:2475-1472
2475-1472
DOI:10.1109/LSENS.2024.3453038