A 512-Pixel, 51-kHz-Frame-Rate, Dual-Shank, Lens-less, Filter-less Single Photon Avalanche Diode CMOS Neural Imaging Probe

IEEE J Solid-State Circuits. 2019 Nov;54(11):2957-2968. doi: 10.1109/JSSC.2019.2941529. Epub 2019 Oct 23.

Abstract

We present an implantable single photon shank-based imager, monolithically integrated onto a single CMOS IC. The imager comprises of 512 single photon avalanche diodes distributed along two shanks, with a 6-bit depth in-pixel memory and an on-chip digital-to-time converter. To scale down the system to a minimally invasive form factor, we substitute optical filtering and focusing elements with a time-gated, angle-sensitive detection system. The imager computationally reconstructs the position of fluorescent sources within a three-dimensional volume of 3.4 mm × 600 µm × 400 µm.

Keywords: CMOS; Compressed sensing; Neural probe; Single photon avalanche diode; Time-gated fluorescence imaging.