The biomedical world is seeking imaging devices that are compact, operative at room-temperature and of high spatial resolution to enhance the localization and detection of living cells. This includes applications such as the detection of cancer cells among healthy tissue. To this
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The biomedical world is seeking imaging devices that are compact, operative at room-temperature and of high spatial resolution to enhance the localization and detection of living cells. This includes applications such as the detection of cancer cells among healthy tissue. To this end, CMOS chips containing arrays of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are a promising subject with excellent potential to drive advancements in the field of bio-sensing. In this work, we present a 1.32 x 1.32 mm imaging chip consisting of a 16 x 16 SPAD-pixel array and a 32 pin I/O ring. The SPAD-pixels are organized into rows, with each SPAD-row connected to a single I/O pin. To output all the data from each SPAD-pixel in a row serially, a parallel in, serial out (PISO) shift register is integrated into the SPAD-row. Each SPAD-pixel consists of a photon-detecting SPAD-cell, a voltage controlled resistor (VCR) and its complementary circuit. This circuitry includes an active quenching and recharge circuit, a counter-based externally configurable hold-off mechanism and a count register with a Schmitt-trigger capable of counting up to 1.0·10⁶ detected photons over an 1-s integration time. In addition, the SPAD-array architecture is scalable, requiring minimal adjustments to expand to a larger format. The chip is developed for applications in quantum diamond sensing, a promising method for high-resolution magnetic field imaging. This work was conducted in the context of the Bachelor Graduation Project at the TU Delft Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, in collaboration with the Quantum Integration Technology (QIT) group.