UK-based startup Singular Photonics has launched a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) image sensor that combines photon counting, timing, histogramming and on-chip processing on a single CMOS platform.

The company says the device, called Litavis, is the first SPAD-based sensor capable of supporting simultaneous intensity, timing and histogramming modes, providing users with access to multiple imaging modalities within a single architecture.

Unlike conventional image sensors, which primarily measure light intensity, SPADs can detect individual photons and record their arrival times. This capability enables imaging and measurement in extremely low-light conditions while also providing temporal information that is inaccessible to traditional detector technologies. As a result, SPAD sensors are attracting growing interest for applications such as fluorescence lifetime imaging, time-resolved spectroscopy, depth sensing, quantum technologies and advanced machine vision.

Litavis combines continuous 256 × 256-pixel photon-counting imaging with a 64 × 64 macropixel grid that generates time-stamped photon events with picosecond-scale resolution. Beyond photon counting, the sensor also supports a range of advanced acquisition modes, including multi-event timing, in-pixel histogramming, time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), high-dynamic-range photon counting, and windowed and coincidence-based detection. Bringing these capabilities together on a single device could allow users to collect richer datasets without the need for multiple dedicated sensors.

The combination of single-photon sensitivity, precise timing and software programmability could make it easier to prototype and deploy advanced imaging instruments across a variety of experimental and commercial settings.

A key feature of the platform is the ability to reconfigure acquisition and timing functions in software rather than redesigning hardware for each application. According to Singular, processing photon events directly on the chip also reduces the amount of raw data that must be transferred to external electronics, potentially lowering latency and power consumption while simplifying the development of real-time imaging and sensing systems.

For researchers and engineers, that combination of single-photon sensitivity, precise timing and software programmability could make it easier to prototype and deploy advanced imaging instruments across a variety of experimental and commercial settings. The sensor may be particularly useful in applications requiring both spatial and temporal information, including fluorescence lifetime microscopy, dynamic light scattering, time-resolved spectroscopy, machine vision and quantum sensing.

The launch builds on Singular Photonics’ efforts to commercialize computational SPAD sensors. The University of Edinburgh spinout has previously worked with Renishaw to develop-based  SPAD technology for time-resolved Raman spectroscopy and sees programmable sensor architectures as a way to accelerate the adoption of single-photon imaging across scientific and industrial markets.