Recent progress of SiC UV single photon counting avalanche photodiodes

4H-SiC single photon counting avalanche photodiodes(SPADs)are prior devices for weak ultraviolet(UV)signal detection with the advantages of small size,low leakage current,high avalanche multiplication gain,and high quantum efficiency,which benefit from the large bandgap energy,high carrier drift velocity and excellent physical stability of 4 H-SiC semiconductor material.UV detectors are widely used in many key applications,such as missile plume detection,corona discharge,UV astronomy,and biological and chemical agent detection.In this paper,we will describe basic concepts and review recent results on device design,process development,and basic characterizations of 4 H-SiC avalanche photodiodes.Several promising device structures and uniformity of avalanche multiplication are discussed,which are important for achieving high performance of 4 HSiC UV SPADs.

The intensity detection of single-photon detectors based on photon counting probability density statistics

Single-photon detectors possess the ultra-high sensitivity, but they cannot directly respond to signal intensity. Conven- tional methods adopt sampling gates with fixed width and count the triggered number of sampling gates, which is capable of obtaining photon counting probability to estimate the echo signal intensity. In this paper, we not only count the number of triggered sampling gates, but also record the triggered time position of photon counting pulses. The photon counting probability density distribution is obtained through the statistics of a series of the triggered time positions. Then Minimum Variance Unbiased Estimation （MVUE） method is used to estimate the echo signal intensity. Compared with conventional methods, this method can improve the estimation accuracy of echo signal intensity due to the acquisition of more detected information. Finally, a proof-of-principle laboratory system is established. The estimation accuracy of echo signal intensity is discussed and a high accuracy intensity image is acquired under low-light level environments.

Detailed calibration of the PI-LCX：1300 high performance single photon counting hard x-ray CCD camera

X-ray charge-coupled-device（CCD） camera working in single photon counting mode is a type of x-ray spectrometer with high-sensitivity and superior signal-to-noise performance. In this study, two single photon counting CCD cameras with the same mode（model： PI-LCX： 1300） are calibrated with quasi-monochromatic x-rays from radioactive sources and a conventional x-ray tube. The details of the CCD response to x-rays are analyzed by using a computer program of multi-pixel analyzing and event-distinguishing capability. The detection efficiency, energy resolution, fraction of multi-pixel events each as a function of x-ray energy, and consistence of two CCD cameras are obtained. The calibrated detection efficiency is consistent with the detection efficiency from Monte Carlo calculations with XOP program. When the multi-pixel event analysis is applied, the CCDs may be used to measure x-rays up to 60 ke V with good energy resolution（E /？E ≈ 100 at60 ke V）. The difference in detection efficiency between two CCD cameras is small（5.6% at 5.89 ke V）, but the difference in fraction of the single pixel event between them is much larger（25% at 8.04 ke V）. The obtained small relative error of detection efficiency（2.4% at 5.89 ke V） makes the high accurate measurement of x-ray yield possible in the laser plasma interaction studies. Based on the discrete calibration results, the calculated detection efficiency with XOP can be used for the whole range of 5 ke V–30 ke V.

Dark count rate and band to band tunneling optimization for single photon avalanche diode topologies

This paper proposes two optimal designs of single photon avalanche diodes(SPADs) minimizing dark count rate(DCR). The first structure is introduced as p^+/pwell/nwell, in which a specific shallow pwell layer is added between p^+and nwell layers to decrease the electric field below a certain threshold. The simulation results show on average 19.7%and 8.5% reduction of p^+/nwell structure’s DCR comparing with similar previous structures in different operational excess bias and temperatures respectively. Moreover, a new structure is introduced as n+/nwell/pwell, in which a specific shallow nwell layer is added between n+and pwell layers to lower the electric field below a certain threshold. The simulation results show on average 29.2% and 5.5% decrement of p^+/nwell structure’s DCR comparing with similar previous structures in different operational excess bias and temperatures respectively. It is shown that in higher excess biases(about 6 volts), the n+/nwell/pwell structure is proper to be integrated as digital silicon photomultiplier(dSiPM) due to low DCR. On the other hand, the p^+/pwell/nwell structure is appropriate to be utilized in dSiPM in high temperatures(above 50?C) due to lower DCR value.

High photon detection efficiency InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diode at 250 K

Planar semiconductor InGaAs/InP single photon avalanche diodes with high responsivity and low dark count rate are preferred single photon detectors in near-infrared communication.However,even with well-designed structures and well-con-trolled operational conditions,the performance of InGaAs/InP SPADs is limited by the inherent characteristics of avalanche pro-cess and the growth quality of InGaAs/InP materials.It is difficult to ensure high detection efficiency while the dark count rate is controlled within a certain range at present.In this paper,we fabricated a device with a thick InGaAs absorption region and an anti-reflection layer.The quantum efficiency of this device reaches 83.2%.We characterized the single-photon performance of the device by a quenching circuit consisting of parallel-balanced InGaAs/InP single photon detectors and single-period sinus-oidal pulse gating.The spike pulse caused by the capacitance effect of the device is eliminated by using the characteristics of parallel balanced common mode signal elimination,and the detection of small avalanche pulse amplitude signal is realized.The maximum detection efficiency is 55.4%with a dark count rate of 43.8 kHz and a noise equivalent power of 6.96×10^(−17 )W/Hz^(1/2) at 247 K.Compared with other reported detectors,this SPAD exhibits higher SPDE and lower noise-equivalent power at a higher cooling temperature.

Internal cancellation of spikes using two avalanche photodiodes in series for single photon detection

We propose a method of improving the performance of InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes by using two avalanche photodiodes in series as single photon detectors for 1550-nm wavelength. In this method, the raw single photon avalanche signals are not attenuated, thus a high signal-to-noise ratio can be obtained compared with the existing results. The performance of the scheme is investigated and the ratio of the dark count rate to the detection efficiency is obtained to be 1.3×10^-4 at 213 K.

Numerical analysis of In_(0.53) Ga_(0.47) As/InP single photon avalanche diodes

A rigorous theoretical model for Ino.53Gao.47As/InP single photon avalanche diode is utilized to investigate the dependences of single photon quantum efficiency and dark count probability on structure and operation condition. In the model, low field impact ionizations in charge and absorption layers are allowed, while avalanche breakdown can occur only in the multiplication layer. The origin of dark counts is discussed and the results indicate that the dominant mechanism that gives rise to dark counts depends on both device structure and operating condition. When the multiplication layer is thicker than a critical thickness or the temperature is higher than a critical value, generation-recombination in the absorption layer is the dominative mechanism; otherwise band-to-band tunneling in the multiplication layer dominates the dark counts. The thicknesses of charge and multiplication layers greatly affect the dark count and the peak single photon quantum efficiency and increasing the multiplication layer width may reduce the dark count probability and increase the peak single photon quantum efficiency. However, when the multiplication layer width exceeds 1 μm, the peak single photon quantum efficiency increases slowly and it is finally saturated at the quantum efficiency of the single photon avalanche diodes.

Dynamic time-correlated single-photon counting laser ranging

We demonstrate a photon counting laser ranging experiment with a four-channel single-photon detector(SPD). The multi-channel SPD improve the counting rate more than 4×10~7 cps, which makes possible for the distance measurement performed even in daylight. However, the time-correlated single-photon counting(TCSPC) technique cannot distill the signal easily while the fast moving targets are submersed in the strong background. We propose a dynamic TCSPC method for fast moving targets measurement by varying coincidence window in real time. In the experiment, we prove that targets with velocity of 5 km/s can be detected according to the method, while the echo rate is 20% with the background counts of more than 1.2×10~7 cps.

室温下高探测效率InGaAsP/InP单光子雪崩二极管

描述了一种高性能平面InGaAsP/InP单光子雪崩二极管(SPAD),该二极管具有单独的吸收、分级、电荷和倍增(SAGCM)异质结构。通过电场调节和缺陷控制,SPAD在293 K的门控模式下工作,光子探测效率(PDE)为70%,暗计数率(DCR)为14.93 kHz,后脉冲概率(APP)为0.89%。此外,在死区时间为200 ns的主动淬灭模式下工作时,室温下实现了12.49%的PDE和72.29 kHz的DCR。

一种对高速运动目标的单光子测距方法

作为一种前沿的激光探测技术,单光子激光测距技术已成功应用于月球测距、卫星测距和地面测高等领域。然而,单光子测距在机载空对空、地对空平台上对高速运动目标进行跟踪测距时,回波光子落在不同的时间窗,导致直接计数无法有效提取信号的问题仍需解决。针对空对空条件下单光子激光测距的应用需求,基于时间相关光子计数技术设计一种适用于全天时、宽时域、多噪声条件下对高速运动目标的单光子测距方法。该方法采用阵列单光子探测器和相邻时间窗相关统计多帧处理算法提取激光回波光子信号,并在Matlab平台上对算法进行仿真实验,使用多元阵列单光子探测器实现最大测程百公里以上、背景噪声计数率约为5 MHz、单脉冲回波光子计数平均值为1条件下的回波光子信号提取。该方法能够克服传统单光子探测只能对准静态目标测距,只能在小接收视场和小波门范围等弱背景噪声及目标轨迹可预测条件下应用的限制,将单光子探测由只能固定平台夜晚对准静态目标测距推广至通用平台全天时对高速运动目标测距。

基于自研ASIC芯片HEPS中硅微条探测器读出电子学原型系统设计与测试

时间分辨X射线粉末衍射技术是探测物质晶体结构及其演变的重要手段。单光子计数型硅微条探测器因其灵敏度高和死时间低,在高能同步辐射光源(HEPS)的X射线粉末衍射实验中发挥着重要作用。研制适用于单光子计数型一维硅微条探测器的专用ASIC读出芯片(SSDROC)及其读出电子学系统,并采用一种新标定方法解决了SSDROC各通道对同一输入输出响应不一致的问题,该方法可显著提高各通道数据一致性并减小衍射实验数据的统计误差。探测器完成各项性能测试,结果表明整体系统线性优秀、能量分辨能力强、噪声低以及计数率高,为将来大覆盖角度一维硅微条探测器系统研制奠定坚实基础。

单光子激光雷达技术发展现状与趋势

随着单光子探测器件及技术的快速发展,具有光子级高灵敏度探测能力的单光子激光雷达已成为研究热点,并在遥感测绘、智能驾驶和消费电子等领域发挥日益重要的作用。本文聚焦于采用单光子雪崩光电二极管探测器的激光雷达技术与系统,介绍了脉冲累积、编码调制和啁啾调制三种单光子激光雷达探测原理。考虑到单光子探测器与处理算法的重要性,概述了单光子探测器的发展现状,以及典型的信号处理算法,并梳理了单光子激光雷达在远距离探测、复杂场景探感、星载/机载测绘遥感、智能驾驶导航避障和消费电子3D感知等领域的应用情况和典型系统实例。最后,分析展望了单光子激光雷达技术在器件、算法、系统和应用领域的未来发展趋势及面临的潜在挑战。

基于单像素单光子探测的目标识别与跟踪方法

为了实现弱回波信号下非合作目标识别跟踪,文章基于单像素光子计数激光雷达系统设计了目标识别跟踪策略,并且提出了一种目标识别跟踪方法。该方法首先将单像素光子计数激光雷达系统采集得到的三维点云经过插值处理得到直观的距离像,然后采用最大稳定极值区域算法分割目标和背景,根据目标轮廓特征识别并选择需要跟踪的目标。最后提取识别目标的质心,与激光雷达扫描中心的偏差作为误差信号,控制伺服系统在扫描的基础之上执行目标跟踪。实验结果表明,当激光发射能量为625 pJ、回波光子数为25时,该系统能对距离为5 m、角速度约为2 mrad/s的目标进行稳定的识别跟踪;验证了基于单像素光子计数激光雷达的策略及方法能够稳定的分割目标和背景,以及正确提取需要识别跟踪测距的目标质心,为弱回波信号下目标识别跟踪测距提供一种有效直观的探测方法,同时,弱信号探测作为远距离探测的必要条件,为远距离下的目标探测及识别跟踪提供了一个新的技术方向。

基于InGaAs单光子探测器的线阵扫描激光雷达及其光子信号处理技术研究

随着探测体系的发展,基于单光子探测技术的光子计数激光雷达受到了广泛关注,有效降低了系统对激光功率的需求,广泛应用在远距离测距及成像领域。针对激光雷达在人眼安全波段的工作需求,基于自由运转模式InGaAs/InP SPAD单光子探测器设计了一套多元收发的远程线阵光子计数激光雷达扫描成像原型系统,对探测器在日光背景下的探测概率影响因素展开了分析,配合主动淬灭电路设计及工作温度、偏压调整获得了系统的最佳工作点,并针对扫描视场中孤立目标特征采用了点云滤波及后脉冲预处理算法,将单个接收通道的原始数据率由200 kbps量级降低至小于1 kbps。与记录单次回波相比,单个测距周期记录四次回波可将有效数据量提升约5%。同时也对探测器的噪声及后脉冲等特性进行了分析。该系统工作波段为1550 nm,探测器线阵规模可达到128元,激光重频为20 kHz,可在2 s内实现水平200°范围内的激光三维成像,作用距离>3 km。经过成像算法处理,该系统在日光条件下成功实现多距离目标三维成像,成像目标清晰。

基于单光子探测的光子计数光时域反射仪研究进展

基于光时域反射技术(Optical Time Domain Reflectometry, OTDR)的光纤分布式传感器可以实现对整个传感光纤空间可分辨的分布式测量,相比点式传感器具有极大的技术及应用成本优势。而传统的基于模拟探测的OTDR光纤分布式传感器在空间分辨率及动态范围上存在性能瓶颈。基于单光子探测的光子计数OTDR光纤分布式传感系统通过数字化的探测和记录方式,可以突破传统OTDR系统的性能极限。本文对光子计数OTDR系统技术及发展进行了综述,旨在通过本文的综述,明确基于单光子探测的光子计数OTDR系统的优势及限制,以及该技术的未来发展趋势,促进基于OTDR技术的光纤分布式传感器的进一步发展。

基于MCP/sCMOS的单光子成像探测系统及算法研究

针对单光子计数成像技术探测目标信号微弱信噪比低、所得图像目标区域不清楚、背景噪声严重等问题。本文利用270±5 nm的日盲紫外滤光片、图像增益7105的微通道板像增强器(MCP)、荧光屏和最大分辨率为1504×1504的科学级互补金属氧化物半导体(sCMOS)等器件,设计了日盲紫外单光子探测系统,并通过时序控制获取了单光子光斑图像。为了突出图像中的目标区域,本文利用改进的形态学高帽变换算法,对光斑目标区域进行增强处理;随后利用三角阈值法对图像进行二值化处理,同时利用连通域对目标区域的坐标进行提取;最后运用区域极值算法在原图中的目标区域进行单光子计数。对紫外光源进行了单次曝光时间为80~100 ns的系列成像和数据处理实验,实验结果验证了所设计的单光子成像探测系统和光子计数算法的可行性。

一种宽光谱响应的双结单光子雪崩二极管

基于180 nm BCD工艺提出了一种新型双结雪崩区的单光子雪崩二极管(SPAD)探测器,采用N阱/高压P阱/N^(+)埋层结构形成了两个垂直堆叠的PN结,高压P阱和N^(+)埋层交界面形成较深的主雪崩区,增强对近红外短波光子的探测概率;同时,N阱/高压P阱之间形成浅的次雪崩区,实现对蓝绿光的高效探测,两结同时工作能够有效扩展器件的光谱响应范围。TCAD仿真结果表明,与传统的P阱/深N阱结构相比,双结SPAD器件在300~940 nm的宽光谱范围内有更高的光子探测概率,在800 nm近红外短波段探测概率达到了20.6%。在3 V过偏压下,暗计数率为0.8 kHz,后脉冲概率为3.2%。

Full-waveform fast correction method for photon counting Lidar

The first photon bias of photon detection results in distortion of the photon waveform,which seriously affects the accurate acquisition of target information.A rapid universal recursive correction method is proposed,which is suitable for multi-trigger and single-trigger modes of photon detection.The calculation time is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude faster than that of Xu et al.'s method.In the experiment,we have obtained good correction results for area targets and targets with varying depths.When the average number of echo photons is 0.89,the correlation distance of the correction waveform is reduced by 85%.

SPECT系统空间分辨力、系统平面灵敏度和固有最大计数率的测量分析

目的通过在核医学科现有条件下对单光子发射型计算机断层显像仪(Single-PhotonEmissionComputed Tomography,SPECT)设备系统空间分辨力、系统平面灵敏度和固有最大计数率进行检测分析,探讨其测试方法、影响因素和临床意义。方法采用美国GE公司的Discovery NM/CT 670 Pro显像系统,参考美国电器制造商协会(National Electrical Manufacturers Association,NEMA)标准NU-1-2012和国家卫生行业标准WS 523-2019,使用99mTc点源测量固有最大计数率,记录实时计数率随源距的变化并绘制曲线;根据测量要求,制备99mTc平面源进行系统平面灵敏度的测量;制备双线源,在标准参数下测量系统空间分辨力;分别改变线源与探头的距离、采集矩阵、活度及计数等采集条件,进一步检测相应条件下的系统空间分辨力。结果设备系统空间分辨力为7.5 mm,采集矩阵越小,源距越大,系统空间分辨力越低,适当降低源活度或采集计数对系统空间分辨力无明显影响,设备系统平面灵敏度为100.5 cps/MBq,固有最大计数率为107.5 kcps。结论核医学科人员可在现有条件下实现SPECT系统空间分辨力、系统平面灵敏度和固有最大计数率的自主检测,对有效保障SPECT成像质量、提高临床诊断准确性具有重要意义。

Development of robust perovskite single crystal radiation detectors with high spectral resolution through synergetic trap deactivation and self-healing

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite single crystals(SCs)are promising materials for detecting ionizing radiation owing to their outstanding photoelectric conversion capability and inexpensive solution processability.However,the accuracy and stability of the detectors have been limited due to the charge traps and defects in SCs,especially when operated under high-precision photon-counting mode for energy spectrum acquisition.Here,we proposed a trap freezing deactivation route,which obviously suppressed dark current and noise by up to 97%and 92%,respectively.Furthermore,the bulk ion migration effect was essential for the ability to instantly self-heal defects induced by radiation damage at temperatures down to30C.Consequently,the detector exhibits a record high energy resolution of 7.5%at 59.5 keV for 241Amγ-ray source,which is the best solution-processed semiconductor radiation detectors at the same energy range.In addition,the detector maintains over 90%of its initial performance after 9 months of storage when tested in the air.Our results will represent a revision of the paradigm that high-spectral-resolution and robust radiation detectors can only be realized with high temperature grown inorganic semiconductor single crystals.