Tutorial: Single-Photon Detection in CMOS

Every single photon carries information in position, time, etc. Single-photon devices are now demonstrated and available in several CMOS technologies, but the needed circuits and architectures are completely different from conventional visible light sensors. This tutorial starts from the description of structure and operation of a single-photon detector, and it continues on the definition of circuits for the front-end electronics needed to efficiently manage the extracted information, addressing challenges and requirements. Then, it concludes with an overview of the different architectures that are specific for each application field, with examples in the biomedical, consumer, and space domain.