A Hardware and Simulation-based Framework for Design of SPAD Receivers in Scanning LiDAR Systems. International Image Sensor Workshop

There are significant overheads involved in prototyping sensors for automotive Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) applications. We propose a framework that validates the performance of a Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) sensor in a controlled environment using a scanning LiDAR system. The results are further extrapolated to a simulation framework utilising synthetic datasets to investigate the merits of sensor architectures at longer distances in automotive LiDAR scenarios. We also present a high-throughput photon processing technique using a continuous sampling Time to Digital Converter (TDC) together with the Synchronous Summation Technique (SST); the performance of which is compared with previously demonstrated sensors. A SPAD pixel array interfaced to a FPGA provides the platform to implement the different design approaches for direct comparison