A Flexible Ultrathin-Body Single-Photon Avalanche Diode With Dual-Side Illumination

The world's first flexible ultrathin-body dual-side illumination single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is reported with a peak photon detection probability of 11% in frontside-illumination (FSI) and 6% in backside-illumination modes, a dark count rate of 20 kHz and negligible afterpulsing and crosstalk. Compared with mainstream CMOS FSI SPAD, this device can be bent around a 10-mm-diameter cylinder and it is indicated in biomedical monitoring, implantable, and edible applications, as well as in antivignetting image sensors, bioinspired composite-eye, or flexible multiaperture cameras, and wherever the sensor plane must follow a certain curvature.