It is an object to provide a solid-state imaging apparatus and a distance measurement system that can detect high-frequency pulsed light. The solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of pixels, a drive section, and a time measurement section. Each of the plurality of pixels has a light-receiving element that converts received light into an electric signal. The drive section drives the plurality of pixels by shifting operation timings of the light-receiving elements. The time measurement section is provided such that the electric signal is input from each of the plurality of pixels and measures the time until light emitted from a light source is reflected by a subject and received by the light-receiving element on the basis of the input of the electric signal.

It is an object to provide a solid-state imaging apparatus and a distance measurement system that can detect high-frequency pulsed light. The solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of pixels, a drive section, and a time measurement section. Each of the plurality of pixels has a light-receiving element that converts received light into an electric signal. The drive section drives the plurality of pixels by shifting operation timings of the light-receiving elements. The time measurement section is provided such that the electric signal is input from each of the plurality of pixels and measures the time until light emitted from a light source is reflected by a subject and received by the light-receiving element on the basis of the input of the electric signal.

A first avalanche diode including a first semiconductor region and a second avalanche diode including a second semiconductor region are provided, a first isolation portion is arranged between the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region, the first isolation portion is constituted by a third semiconductor region, or a fourth semiconductor regions and the third semiconductor regions arranged to sandwich the fourth semiconductor region in plan view, and in the fourth semiconductor regions, an impurity concentration Nd of the third semiconductor region, an impurity concentration Na of the fourth semiconductor region, an elementary electric charge q, a dielectric constant ε of a semiconductor, a potential difference V between a P-N junction of the third semiconductor region and the fourth semiconductor region, and a length D of the third semiconductor region sandwiched by the fourth semiconductor regions satisfy Expression 1.

[00001]$2\times \sqrt{\frac{2\epsilon \mathrm{Nd}V}{q\mathrm{Na}\left(\mathrm{Na}+\mathrm{Nd}\right)}}>D$

A system for power efficient image acquisition is configurable to capture, using an image sensor, a plurality of partial image frames including at least a first partial image frame and a second partial image frame. The first partial image frame is captured at a first timepoint using a first subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor. The second partial image frame is captured at a second timepoint using a second subset of image sensing pixels of the plurality of image sensing pixels of the image sensor. The second subset of image sensing pixels includes different image sensing pixels than the first subset of image sensing pixels, and the second timepoint is temporally subsequent to the first timepoint. The system is configurable to generate a composite image frame based on the plurality of partial image frames.

High speed, and high timing resolution photon detecting systems and methods are presented with multiplication and self-quenching and self-recovering functions.

An optical sensing apparatus is provided. The optical sensing apparatus includes a substrate, one or more pixels supported by the substrate, where each of the one or more pixels includes an absorption region, a field control region, a first contact region, a second contact region and a carrier confining region. The field control region and the first contact region are doped with a dopant of a first conductivity type. The second contact region is doped with a dopant of a second conductivity type. The carrier confining region includes a first barrier region and a channel region, where the first barrier region is doped with a dopant of the second conductivity type and has a first peak doping concentration, and where the channel region is intrinsic or doped with a dopant of the second conductivity type and has a second peak doping concentration lower than the first peak doping concentration.

An optical sensing apparatus is provided. The optical sensing apparatus includes a substrate, one or more pixels supported by the substrate, where each of the one or more pixels includes an absorption region, a field control region, a first contact region, a second contact region and a carrier confining region. The field control region and the first contact region are doped with a dopant of a first conductivity type. The second contact region is doped with a dopant of a second conductivity type. The carrier confining region includes a first barrier region and a channel region, where the first barrier region is doped with a dopant of the second conductivity type and has a first peak doping concentration, and where the channel region is intrinsic or doped with a dopant of the second conductivity type and has a second peak doping concentration lower than the first peak doping concentration.

The present disclosure is directed to imaging LiDARs with optical antennas fed by optical waveguides. The optical antennas can be activated through an optical switch network that connects the optical antennas to a laser source to a receiver. A microlens array is positioned between a lens of the LiDAR system and the optical antennas, the microlens array being positioned so as to transform an emission angle from a corresponding optical antenna to match a chief ray angle of the lens. Methods of use and fabrication are also provided.

The present disclosure is directed to imaging LiDARs with optical antennas fed by optical waveguides. The optical antennas can be activated through an optical switch network that connects the optical antennas to a laser source to a receiver. A microlens array is positioned between a lens of the LiDAR system and the optical antennas, the microlens array being positioned so as to transform an emission angle from a corresponding optical antenna to match a chief ray angle of the lens. Methods of use and fabrication are also provided.

A germanium based avalanche photo-diode device and method of manufacture thereof. The device including: a silicon substrate; a lower doped silicon region, positioned above the substrate; a silicon multiplication region, positioned above the lower doped silicon region; an intermediate doped silicon region, positioned above the silicon multiplication region; an un-doped germanium absorption region, position above the intermediate doped silicon region; an upper doped germanium region, positioned above the un-doped germanium absorption region; and an input silicon waveguide; wherein: the un-doped germanium absorption region and the upper doped germanium region form a germanium waveguide which is coupled to the input waveguide, and the device also includes a first electrode and a second electrode, and the first electrode extends laterally to contact the lower doped silicon region and the second electrode extends laterally to contact the upper doped germanium region.