Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) are devices capable of detecting single photons with picosecond temporal resolution. They are a key enabling technology for Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and emerging quantum sensing techniques like fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and quantum ghost imaging (QGI). The fabrication of SPADs using standard Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology allows the cointegration of the sensing devices with the electronics that process the information, resulting in systems-on-chips implementing complex functionalities.

The proposed activity includes the design and the electro-optical characterization of SPAD based sensors fabricated in CMOS for biomedical applications. The candidate will contribute to the optimization of such sensors by addressing the problem of distributing time-critical signals over a wide chip area by developing compact models and efficient algorithms for the estimation of propagation delays. Finally, the candidate will also explore the paradigm of compressive sensing for improving the speed, spatial resolution and temporal resolution of SPAD based sensors without affecting the data throughput.