The Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) chlorophyll meter is one of the most commonly used diagnostic tools to measure crop nitrogen status. However, the measurement method of the meter could significantly affect the accuracy of the final estimation. Thus, this research was undertaken to develop a new methodology to optimize SPAD meter measurements in rice (Oryza sativa L.). A flatbed color ...

We report on the characterization of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) fabricated in standard 140-nm silicon on insulator (SOI) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. As a methodology for SPAD optimization, a test structure array, called SPAD farm, was realized with several junctions, guard-ring structures, dimensions, etc. In this paper, characterization results of the...

The error in protein tertiary structure prediction is unavoidable, but it is not explicitly shown in most of the current prediction algorithms. Estimated error of a predicted structure is crucial information for experimental biologists to use the prediction model for design and interpretation of experiments. Here, we propose a method to estimate errors in predicted structures based on the stabi...

A monolithic circuit has been designed for active-quenching and active-reset of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), which operate above the breakdown voltage BD for detecting single photons. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully integrated circuit of this kind ever reported. It can operate with any available SPAD device, since it generates pulses high enough to quench detect...

Recently, considerable attention has been placed upon exploiting the negative-feedback effect in accelerating the quenching time of the avalanche current in passively quenched single-photon avalanche-diode (SPAD) circuits. Reducing the quenching time results in a reduction in the total charge generated in the SPAD, thereby reducing the number of trapped carries; this, in turn, can lead to impro...

We report on the first implementation of a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) in 130nm CMOS technology. The SPAD is fabricated as p+/nwell junction with octagonal shape. A guard ring of p-well around the p+ anode is used to prevent premature discharge. To investigate the dynamics of the new device, both active and passive quenching methods have been used. Single photon detection is achieved b...

The techniques utilized to extract chlorophyll from plant materials are destructive and based on methods that use organic solvents. This study proposes the non-destructive quantification of chlorophyll and nitrogen concentration using a portable chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502). Further, was possible to establish relationships between chlorophyll fluorescence and SPAD-502 values. This methodology c...

In this work we investigate operation in the Geiger mode of the new single photon avalanche photo diode (SPAD) SAP500 manufactured by Laser Components. This SPAD is sensitive in the range 400-1000 nm and has a conventional reach-through structure which ensures good quantum efficiency at the long end of the spectrum. By use of passive and active quenching schemes we investigate detection efficie...

Debugging usually facilitates the dynamic analysis of runtime application for software development. Yet it can also be a threat to system security when adopted by malicious attackers, and hence anti-debugging becomes valuable. The major challenges of software-only anti-debugging are the compromised strategy and lack of self-protection. This paper proposes software protection through anti-debugg...

A single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) with an InGaAs absorption region, and an InAlAs avalanche region was designed and demonstrated to detect 1550 nm wavelength photons. The characterization included leakage current, dark count rate and single photon detection efficiency as functions of temperature from 210 to 294 K. The SPAD exhibited good temperature stability, with breakdown voltage depend...