[2021] Readout Electronics for Time-of-Flight Cameras in Mobile Face-Unlock Applications (project with Infineon) [already taken]

Time-of-flight (ToF) cameras can capture images that also contain very precise depth information. They can do so by measuring the time difference between the emission of a light signal and its return to the sensor. The longer it takes the light to return, the further away the object is. ToF cameras are used in your smartphone to improve the resolution of face recognition and the security of Face-Unlock.

To further increase the precision of these cameras, larger sensor arrays (640 x 960 pixels) that can capture images at very high speed (>1000 frame/second) are needed. However, this comes at the cost of higher power consumption and footprint, which are limited resources in mobile devices. A major challenge comes from the cost of converting the analog signal generated by the photosensor into a digital signal that can be stored and processed.

Assignment

In this project, you will study a novel analog-to-digital converter for next-generation low-power time-of-flight sensor arrays being developed at Infineon. The design will be implemented in 65-nm CMOS technology and verified at the transistor level. The student will be supported with a salary for a period of up to 12 months and will perform a fraction of the project at Infineon’s design center in Villach, Austria under the co-supervision of an industry expert in the Data-Converters Team.

Infineon has about 46,665 employees and is one of the ten largest semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. It is the market leader in automotive and power semiconductors.

Requirements

MSc EE-ME student.

You should be comfortable with analog mixed-signal IC design and the Cadence analog environment. Curiosity, hard work, and creativity are always needed. If you are interested, contact Dr. Dante Muratore via email with a motivation letter and attached CV (with taken courses and grades)

Contact

Last modified: 2022-06-23