Weight Based Current Assisted Photonic Demodulator (WBCAPD) - Expansion towards Neuromorphic Applications.

The emergence of autonomous applications, vision and information systems, and the shift from charge coupled devices (CCD) to complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) have led to significant advances in the image sensing field by extending research and development of new devices to the 3D sensing and neuromorphic functions field. We present a new weight-based operating concept for the current assisted photonic demodulator (CAPD) device and show how it can be used in future neuromorphic sensors. The new photodiode is capable of variably dividing the photo-generated charges amongst the surrounding pixels as well as real-time feed-backing between neighboring pixels. TCAD simulations are performed and analyzed to verify the new design's feasibility. A customized pixel circuit and pixel array which support the new photodiode design and operation concept are proposed as well as setups for averaging and edge detection functionalities.