SBIR/STTR Award attributes
The detection of photons, the elementary particles of light, is not only central to the exploration of the fundamental nature of energy, matter, space and time, but it also plays an important role in applications such as such as hazard & threat detection, 3D-sensing such as light/laser detection and ranging (LIDAR/LADAR), low light imaging, astronomy, quantum information science, biophotonics, medical imaging, microscopy, and communications. light/laser detection and ranging (LIDAR/LADAR), photography, astronomy, quantum information science, medical imaging, microscopy, and communications. Photodetectors made of many single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) firing in Geiger mode are widely valued for their single-photon sensitivity and picosecond timing resolution. Some of the advantages of SPADs are low cost, robust construction, excellent response time, compactness, improved life span, lower power consumption, lower operating voltages, and immunity to magnetic fields. That said, new applications are pushing to increase the spatial resolution and decrease the size of the device while maintaining or increasing photon detection efficiency. This proposal addresses these challenges by exploring a new class of SPADs that exploit Mie resonance to increase photon detection efficiency in smaller pixels with the goal of enhancing spatial resolution in low-light applications that require a small footprint. Phase I employs simulation and experimental work to develop a silicon SPAD design and fabrication process flow, that begins to address crucial questions arising from implementing the larger reverse voltages in nanosize devices.
