Single-photon avalanche diode arrays and CMOS microelectronics for counting, timing, and imaging quantum events

Aim of the paper is to discuss design, fabrication and performances of Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) arrays developed at the SPADLab of Politecnico di Milano, in both custom and fully-CMOS technologies. Applications span from 2D imagers for high sensitivity fast frame-rate (close to Mframe/s) video acquisitions, to molecular imaging, to functional time-resolved Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) of organs and tissues, to Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) with 30psFWHM photon timing resolution. Various microelectronic single-chip detection modules and monolithic SPAD arrays will be presented and discussed