Tiled Silicon-Photomultiplier Array Read-Out Integrated Circuit

LIDAR is a critical measurement tool for NASA missions particularly in the realm of aerosol, cloud and oceanographic (ACO) measurements. Traditional implementations of LIDAR photon counting receivers use delicate photomultiplier tubes coupled to racks of bulky test equipment needed for advanced signal processing. A complex array of discrete preamplifiers, discriminators, comparators, and counters are required before the advanced digital processing needed for LIDAR can be performed. With advances in IC technology, it is now possible to implement the entire signal processing chain required for a photon counting receiver within a single chip. Moving to an integrated solution has the potential to revolutionize future spaceborne LIDAR missions through significant reductions in cost, size, weight, and power over current systems. Additionally, ACO applications require multiple photodetector channels in order to increase both sensitivity and dynamic range. A major challenge of this application is that the aggregate photon counting range needs to cover 6 orders of magnitude from 1 MHz to 1 THz with pulse widths well below 300 ps; a difficult requirement for discrete electronics to achieve. In order to solve this difficult problem, Freedom Photonics proposes the design, layout and fabrication of a complete photon counting read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) to perform amplification, signal processing, and digitization of the photodetector output. This ROIC can have multiple implementations and can be fully customized to the needs of the end user. For example, the ROIC could be used with either microchannel plate photomultiplier tubes (MCP-PMT) or with silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), creating a nearly universal photon counting solution. The proposed ROIC has 16 photon counting input channels with on-chip termination and 16 corresponding LVDS digital outputs. The maximum single photon count rate is 1 GHz per channel with a per channel power consumption of less than 20 mW.

Potential NASA applications primarily center around cloud-aerosol-ocean LIDAR. The ROIC can also be used for any photon counting LIDAR application in future NASA missions. The proposed ROIC design offers a near-universal front-end solution for both space and airborne LIDAR systems.

Government (non-NASA) applications: Fisheries Management – NOAA Underwater LIDAR – Department of Defense High-energy physics instrumentation – Department of Energy Commercial applications: Medical Imaging

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.