Sensing device comprising electrical components of high voltage domain and low voltage domain to perform quenching of a single photon avalanche diode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11035725-B2
Application number	US-202016787035-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2020
Priority date	Feb 13, 2019
Publication date	Jun 15, 2021
Grant date	Jun 15, 2021

Abstract

A sensing device that may include a substrate; a single-ended SPAD; first electrical components; second electrical components; and capacitors. The SPAD, the first electrical components and the second electrical components are formed on the substrate. The SPAD and the first electrical components belong to a high voltage domain of the sensing device. The high voltage domain is configured to receive a high supply voltage that exceeds a breakdown voltage of the SPAD. The second electrical components belong to a low voltage domain of the sensing device. The capacitors are coupled between the low voltage domain and the high voltage domain. The first electrical components and the second electrical components belong to an electrical circuit that is configured to perform quenching of the SPAD.

First claim

We claim:

1. A sensing device comprising:
a substrate;
a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) having a cathode and an anode; wherein an anode of the SPAD is not isolated from the substrate;
first electrical components;
second electrical components;
capacitors;
wherein the SPAD, the first electrical components and the second electrical components are formed on the substrate;
wherein the SPAD and the first electrical components belong to a high voltage domain of the sensing device; wherein the high voltage domain is configured to receive a high supply voltage that exceeds a breakdown voltage of the SPAD;
wherein the second electrical components belong to a low voltage domain of the sensing device; wherein the low voltage domain is configured to receive at least one low supply voltage that is lower than a breakdown voltage of the SPAD;
wherein the capacitors are coupled between the low voltage domain and the high voltage domain;
wherein the first electrical components and the second electrical components belong to an electrical circuit that is configured to perform quenching of the SPAD.

2. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the high supply voltage substantially equals a sum of a breakdown voltage of the SPAD and an access voltage, wherein a low supply voltage of the at least one supply voltage equals the access voltage.

3. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the low supply voltage is less than one fourth of the breakdown voltage of the SPAD.

4. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the first electrical components comprise a first group of transistors, wherein the transistors of the first group of transistors are surrounded by a doped region having a doping of a type that differs from a type of doping of the substrate.

5. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the first electrical components comprise a first transistor that is electrically coupled to the cathode of the SPAD.

6. The sensing device according to claim 5 , wherein the first transistor is configured to operate as a passive quenching resistor when the electrical circuit is disabled from performing active quenching.

7. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the first electrical components comprise a second transistor that is configured to reset the SPAD during a completion of an active quenching of the SPAD.

8. The sensing device according to claim 7 wherein the first electrical components comprise a third transistor that is configured to operate as a pull up resistor of a gate of the second transistor and to keep the second transistor in an off state when the SPAD is idle.

9. The sensing device according to claim 8 wherein the third transistor had a gate oxide that is thicker than a gate oxide of the first transistor.

10. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the second electrical components comprise (a) a comparator that is configured to sense a breakdown of the SPAD and generate a detection signal, (b) and one or more additional second electrical components that are configured to generate, in response to the detection signal, a control signal for resetting the SPAD.

11. The sensing device according to claim 10 wherein the one or more additional second electrical components comprise an adjustable resistance transistor that is configured to determine a response period of an active quenching operation of the electrical circuit.

12. The sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the second electrical components comprise multiple inverters, and multiple transistors.

13. A method for operating a sensing device, the method comprising:
supplying a high supply voltage to a high voltage domain of the sensing device, wherein the high supply voltage exceeds a breakdown voltage of a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) of the sensing device; wherein the sensing device further comprises a substrate, capacitors, and a low voltage domain; wherein the SPAD comprises a cathode and an anode; wherein an anode of the SPAD is not isolated from the substrate; wherein the capacitors couple the low voltage domain to the high voltage domain; wherein the SPAD, first electrical components and second electrical components are formed on the substrate; wherein the high voltage domain comprises the SPAD and the first electrical components; wherein the low voltage domain comprises the second electrical components;
supplying at least one low supply voltage to the low voltage domain, wherein the at least one low supply voltage is lower than a breakdown voltage of the SPAD;
receiving a photon and undergoing a breakdown, by the SPAD; and
detecting the breakdown and quenching the SPAD, by an electrical circuit that comprises the first electrical components and the second electrical components.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the high supply voltage substantially equals a sum of a breakdown voltage of the SPAD and an access voltage, wherein a low supply voltage of the at least one supply voltage equals the access voltage.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein the low supply voltage is less than one fourth of the breakdown voltage of the SPAD.

16. The method according to claim 13 wherein the first electrical components comprise a first group of transistors, wherein the transistors of the first group of transistors are surrounded by a doped region having a doping of a type that differs from a type of doping of the substrate.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein the first electrical components comprise a first transistor that is electrically coupled to the cathode of the SPAD.

18. The method according to claim 17 , comprising operating the first transistor as a passive quenching resistor when the electrical circuit is disabled from performing active quenching.

19. The method according to claim 13 wherein the first electrical components comprise a second transistor, wherein the method comprises resetting, by the second transistor, the SPAD during a completion of an active quenching of the SPAD.

20. The method according to claim 19 wherein the first electrical components comprise a third transistor, wherein the method comprises operating the third transistor as a pull up resistor of a gate of the second transistor and keeping the second transistor in an off state when the SPAD is idle.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein the third transistor had a gate oxide that is thicker than a gate oxide of the first transistor.

22. The method according to claim 13 wherein the detecting the breakdown of the SPAD comprises sensing, by a comparator that belongs to the second electrical components, the breakdown of the SPAD; generating by the comparator a detection signal; and wherein the method further comprises generating, by one or more additional second electrical components and in response to the detection signal, a control signal for resetting the DPAD.

23. The method according to claim 22 wherein the one or more additional second electrical components comprise an adjustable resistance transistor; wherein the method comprises adjusting a resistance value of the adjustable resistance transistor thereby setting a response period of an active quenching operation of the electrical circuit.

24. The method according to claim 13 wherein the second electrical components comprise multiple inverters, and multiple transistors.

Assignees

• Technion Res And Development Foundation
• Technion Res & Dev Foundation

Inventors

• Katz Alexander
• Nemirovsky Yael

Classifications

• H10F77/959

  for devices working in avalanche mode · CPC title

• H10F77/933

  for devices having potential barriers · CPC title

• H10F30/225

  the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiodes · CPC title

• G01J1/46 Primary

  using a capacitor · CPC title

• G01J1/44 Primary

  Electric circuits {(for command of an exposure part G03B7/02)} · CPC title