Gigajot article in Nature Scientific Reports

Jiaju Ma et al. of Gigajot Technology, Inc. have published a new article titled "Ultra‑high‑resolution quanta image sensor with reliable photon‑number‑resolving and high dynamic range capabilities" in Nature Scientific Reports.

Abstract:

Superior low‑light and high dynamic range (HDR) imaging performance with
ultra‑high pixel resolution are widely sought after in the imaging
world. The quanta image sensor (QIS) concept was proposed in 2005 as the
next paradigm in solid‑state image sensors after charge coupled devices
(CCD)and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel
sensors. This next‑generation image sensor would contain hundreds of
millions to billions of small pixels with photon‑number‑resolving and
HDR capabilities, providing superior imaging performance over CCD and
conventional CMOS sensors. In this article, we present a 163 megapixel
QIS that enables both reliable photon‑number‑resolving and high dynamic
range imaging in a single device. This is the highest pixel resolution
ever reported among low‑noise image sensors with photon‑number‑resolving
capability. This QIS was fabricated with a standard, state‑of‑the‑art
CMOS process with 2‑layer wafer stacking and backside illumination.
Reliable photon‑number‑resolving is demonstrated with an average
read noise of 0.35 e‑ rms at room temperature operation, enabling
industry leading low‑light imaging performance. Additionally, a dynamic
range of 95 dB is realized due to the extremely low noise floor and an
extended full‑well capacity of 20k e‑. The design, operating principles,
experimental results, and imaging performance of this QIS device are
discussed.

Ma, J., Zhang, D., Robledo, D. et al. Ultra-high-resolution quanta image sensor with reliable photon-number-resolving and high dynamic range capabilities. Sci Rep 12, 13869 (2022).

This is an open access article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17952-z.epdf