Multipurpose, Fully Integrated 128 × 128 Event-Driven MD-SiPM with 512 16-Bit TDCs with 45-ps LSB and 20-ns Gating in 40-nm CMOS Technology

Abstract

A multipurpose monolithic array of 2 × 2 multichannel digital silicon photomultipliers (MD-SiPMs) fabricated in 40-nm CMOS technology is presented. Each MD-SiPM comprises 64 × 64 smart pixels connected to 128 low-power 45-ps sliding-scale time-to-digital converters (TDCs). The system can operate in two different modes: 1) event-driven and 2) frame-based. The first is suited for positron emission tomography (PET) and the second for synchronous applications like LiDAR. The design includes electronics to capture gamma events by means of a scintillator. The digital readout is fully embedded in the sensor and it is reconfigurable by SPI. Data packets are sent following a simple protocol compatible with an external FIFO, therefore making use of an FPGA optional. Every MD-SiPM can deliver up to 64M time-stamps/s. The sensor can be arranged in any type of configuration through a dedicated synchronization input and can be used to operate jointly with an event generator, such as a pulsed laser, which is useful in many applications. Inherently compatible with 3-D-stacking technology, the sensor can serve as front-end electronics when it is used with a different SPAD silicon tear.