About event
Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) are very sensitive detectors capable of detecting single photons. A photon absorbed in the SPAD can trigger a self-sustaining avalanche by impact ionization. As the SPAD’s output is digital, since every detected photon causes a measurable pulse, no further analog amplification is required. These SPADs can be integrated into commercially available standard CMOS processes, so that bias circuits and additional functions such as threshold detectors or digital correlators can be integrated. This can be used for many different applications, e.g. for distance measurement using time-of-flight or interferometric approaches, for quantum applications and for high-sensitivity optical data communication, where data can be transmitted with very low optical power.
