US 12,468,019 B2
Light receiving device and light receiving circuit
Noboru Sakimura, Kanagawa (JP); Fumihiko Hanzawa, Kanagawa (JP); and Yasunori Tsukuda, Kanagawa (JP)
Assigned to SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, Kanagawa (JP)
Appl. No. 17/781,243
Filed by SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, Kanagawa (JP)
PCT Filed Oct. 26, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/040045
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 31, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/117359, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 17, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-222936 (JP), filed on Dec. 10, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0413108 A1, Dec. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. G01S 7/4863 (2020.01); G01S 7/4865 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/4863 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4865 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A light receiving device, comprising:
a light detector array including a plurality of pixels, wherein each of the plurality of pixels is configured to output a pulse in response to a reaction of a light detector with a photon;
a counter circuit configured to count the pulse outputted from at least one of the plurality of pixels of the light detector array;
a control circuit configured to select, from the light detector array, one of the plurality of pixels to be enabled and one of the plurality of pixels to be disabled, based on a number of counts of the pulse from the counter circuit; and
a TDC (Time to Digital Converter), wherein the plurality of pixels, that are non-adjacent within the light detector array, are connected through a common lead and coupled to the TDC via a wired OR.