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A Low Power and Wide Dynamic Range Digital Pixel Sensor (DPS) for Optical Brain Imaging Systems

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Abstract

This paper proposes a self-reset pulse frequency modulation (PFM) digital pixel sensor (DPS) with in-pixel variable reference voltage for optical brain imaging systems. The sensor demonstrates a wide dynamic range and very low power consumption that can detect small signals of brain activity in brain. The high dynamic range, high SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), high speed and low power consumption image sensor are suitable for optical brain imaging systems. Since the comparator part consumes high power inside pixel, sub-threshold, self-biased and bulk-driven techniques are used to achieve both ultra-low-voltage and low power in the PFM DPS. Moreover, High speed (high frame rate) is achieved by image capturing in-parallel for all pixels. The proposed image sensor is post layout simulated in 0.18 µm Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology with 0.6 V supply voltage, resulting in the dynamic range of 152 dB and the power consumption of 11.25 nW and the fill factor of the proposed sensor is 11%. Hence, this device has significant potential to be used for brain signal detection in pre-clinical and clinical studies, cognitive process, diagnose diseases in exploring brain structure and function.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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  1. School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Yasin Salehifar, Ahmad Ayatollahi & Mohammad Azim Karami

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  1. Yasin Salehifar
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  2. Ahmad Ayatollahi
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  3. Mohammad Azim Karami
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Correspondence to Yasin Salehifar.

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Salehifar, Y., Ayatollahi, A. & Karami, M.A. A Low Power and Wide Dynamic Range Digital Pixel Sensor (DPS) for Optical Brain Imaging Systems. Sens Imaging 23, 4 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11220-021-00373-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11220-021-00373-z

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