This paper unveils two efficient free running (FR) quenching circuits with the aim of reducing quenching time (QT) to minimize avalanche charge. Likewise, one circuit is compactly designed with low power consumption, suitable for single‐photon avalanche diode (SPAD) with hold‐off time below 10 ns. In second circuit, tunable hold‐off and reset‐time are provided within a wide range without decreasing QT, which are desirable in many applications. Proper operation and circuit uncertainty is assessed by Monte Carlo analysis in a standard 90‐nm complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In a bid to do a comparison between previously reported circuits and the proposed circuits, they are simulated with same SPAD model and parameters and results corroborate the proposed circuits guarantee active quenching time (AQT) of below 1 ns. Proposed circuits with current and area consumption of 0.74 μA, 32 μm² for 7‐ns dead time and 16.2 μA, 93 μm² for 21‐ns dead time are more efficient in terms of QT, area, and power consumption in comparison with other works.

中文翻译：

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低功率紧凑型可调淬灭配置，可最大程度地减少单光子雪崩二极管的后脉冲

本文介绍了两个有效的自由运行（FR）淬火电路，旨在减少淬火时间（QT）以最大程度地减少雪崩电荷。同样，一个电路设计紧凑，功耗低，适用于单光子雪崩二极管（SPAD），保持时间低于10 ns。在第二电路中，在不降低QT的情况下，可在宽范围内提供可调的保持和复位时间，这在许多应用中都是理想的。在标准的90纳米互补金属氧化物半导体（CMOS）技术中，通过蒙特卡洛分析评估正确的操作和电路不确定性。为了在先前报告的电路和建议的电路之间进行比较，使用相同的SPAD模型和参数对它们进行了仿真，结果证实了建议的电路可确保低于1 ns的有源猝灭时间（AQT）。用0.74μA的电流和面积消耗，32微米建议的电路² 7-NS死区时间和16.2微安，93微米² 与其他工作相比，在21ns死区的QT，面积和功耗方面，效率更高。