We present the architecture and three applications of the largest resolution image sensor based on single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) published to date. The sensor, fabricated in a high-voltage CMOS process, has a resolution of 512 × 128 pixels and a pitch of 24 μm. The fill-factor of 5% can be increased to 30% with the use of microlenses. For precise control of the exposure and for time-resolved imaging, we use fast global gating signals to define exposure windows as small as 4 ns. The uniformity of the gate edges location is ∼140 ps (FWHM) over the whole array, while in-pixel digital counting enables frame rates as high as 156 kfps.

Hardware Trojans recently emerged as a serious issue for computer systems, especially for those used in critical applications such as medical or military. Trojan proposed so far can affect the reliability of a device in various ways. Proposed effects range from the leakage of secret information to the complete malfunctioning of the device. A crucial point for securing the overall operation of a device is to guarantee the absence of hardware Trojans. In this paper, we survey several techniques for detecting malicious modification of circuit introduced at different phases of the design flow. We also highlight their capabilities limitations in thwarting hardware Trojans.