| Citation: |
Na Tian, Zhe Wang, Kai Ma, Xu Yang, Nan Qi, Jian Liu, Nanjian Wu, Runjiang Dou, Liyuan Liu. A 128 × 128 SPAD LiDAR sensor with column-parallel 25 ps resolution TA-ADCs[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2024, 45(8): 082201. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/24030019
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N Tian, Z Wang, K Ma, X Yang, N Qi, J Liu, N J Wu, R J Dou, and L Y Liu, A 128 × 128 SPAD LiDAR sensor with column-parallel 25 ps resolution TA-ADCs[J]. J. Semicond., 2024, 45(8), 082201 doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/24030019
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A 128 × 128 SPAD LiDAR sensor with column-parallel 25 ps resolution TA-ADCs
DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/24030019
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Abstract
This paper presents a design of single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor with 128 × 128 pixels and 128 column-parallel time-to-analog-merged-analog-to-digital converts (TA-ADCs). Unlike the conventional TAC-based SPAD LiDAR sensor, in which the TAC and ADC are separately implemented, we propose to merge the TAC and ADC by sharing their capacitors, thus avoiding the analog readout noise of TAC’s output buffer, improving the conversion rate, and reducing chip area. The reverse start-stop logic is employed to reduce the power of the TA-ADC. Fabricated in a 180 nm CMOS process, our prototype sensor exhibits a timing resolution of 25 ps, a DNL of +0.30/−0.77 LSB, an INL of +1.41/−2.20 LSB, and a total power consumption of 190 mW. A flash LiDAR system based on this sensor demonstrates the function of 2D/3D imaging with 128 × 128 resolution, 25 kHz inter-frame rate, and sub-centimeter ranging precision. -
References
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Proportional views



Na Tian is pursuing a Ph.D. with the State Key Laboratory of Super-lattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Her research activity focuses on the design and development of time-of-flight imaging, and mixed-signal circuits.
Zhe Wang engaged in postdoctoral research work at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2021, where he became an Assistant Researcher in 2023. His research interests include analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits design and SPAD image sensor design.
Kai Ma is pursuing an M.S. degree with the State Key Laboratory of Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. His current research interests include analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits design, high-performance sensor interface design, and CMOS image sensor design.
Xu Yang finished her Post-Doctoral Fellow Training at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2023, where she is currently a Research Assistant. Her research interests include bio-inspired spiking vision chips, spiking neural network and image processing algorithms, and parallel image processor architectures.
Nan Qi is now a Full Professor of electrical circuits and systems at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. His research interests include the design of integrated circuits for high-speed wireline/optical and wireless transceivers.
Jian Liu is a Full Professor in microelectronics and solid-state electronics with the State Key Laboratory of Super-lattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, since 2005. His research interests include semiconductor optoelectronic detectors, terahertz imagers, and metamaterials.
Nanjian Wu has been a Professor with the State Key Laboratory of Super-lattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, since 2000. His research includes the field of mixed-signal VLSI and vision chip design.
Runjiang Dou is a Senior Engineer at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. His research interests include the design of vision systems based on intelligent hardware.
Liyuan Liu joined the State Key Laboratory of Super-lattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, as an Associate Professor in 2012, where he became a Professor in 2018. His research interests include mixed-signal IC design, CMOS image sensors design, terahertz image sensors design, and monolithic vision chip design.
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