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New spinout Singular Photonics launches with novel image sensor technology

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23 Jan 2025

University of Edinburgh spinout Singular Photonics has launched with a new generation of image sensors for uses in multiple sectors, including medical imaging, environmental sensing and quantum.

Singular Photonics’ innovative technology adds complex layers of computation beneath 3D-stacked single photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) sensors to reveal previously invisible details of the material world.

SPADs are highly sensitive detectors capable of identifying individual photons. A single photon triggers a large multiplication of electrical charge, enabling them to detect very low levels of light.

Accurate photon detection and fast data processing is not only crucial in fields such as medical imaging, environmental sensing and scientific instrumentation, it will also bring societal benefits, including real-time cancer diagnosis, and discovery of new materials to advance quantum applications.

A Singular Photonics engineer

The company was co-founded by Professor of Electronic Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, Robert Henderson, who is now Scientific Advisor to the company; Dr Aravind Venugopalan, a PhD graduate of the University’s School of Engineering and previous Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellow, now Chief Technical Officer; Dr Neil Finlayson, former research fellow at the School of Engineering, and Shahida Imani, Chief Executive Officer.

In 2005, Professor Henderson designed one of the first SPAD image sensors in nanometer Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technologies, leading to the first time-of-flight sensors in 2013, which today perform an autofocus-assist feature in more than a billion smartphones worldwide.

Professor Henderson said:

There can be no doubt that SPAD sensors are the future of digital imaging, but their use to date in commercial devices hasn’t extended much beyond time-resolved counting of photons.
Computational cleverness can be the difference. We are building next-generation imaging sensors, where the computation is done digitally at the pixel level – exactly where the photons arrive. ”

Singular Photonics, which is headquartered in Edinburgh, will showcase its two products for the first time at next week’s SPIE Photonics West event in San Francisco.

Andarta – developed with tech giant Meta – is for use in medical imaging, representing a significant step closer to SPAD integration in the wearables space. For example, Andarta enables monitoring of the rate of cerebral blood flow, monitoring rapid fluctuations in light as it passes through tissue, at depths not currently possible with current sensors.

Sirona, the company’s first product, has the potential to revolutionize spectroscopy applications. It is a 512 pixel SPAD-based line sensor is capable of time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) and enabling Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), time-of-flight, and quantum applications.

Shahida Imani, CEO of Singular Photonics, said:

We are in a unique position where we already have commercially available products and are generating revenue in our first year of incorporation. With new, even more advanced sensors coming to the market in 2025, we are well positioned to lead the SPAD-driven imaging revolution. ”

Dr Andrea Taylor, CEO of Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, said:

Having supported the team through commercialisation, including intellectual property protection and company formation, we are delighted to see Singular Photonics going from strength to strength during its first year of operation.
Their advanced computation SPAD technology has the potential to transform a range of fields from medical imaging to quantum, and we look forward to continuing to support the company as it grows.
This is another excellent example of how the University’s commitment to unlocking research and innovation supports academic colleagues to create cutting-edge technology for emerging fields; generating high-value, IP-rich spinouts. ”