Edinburgh based semiconductor startup Singular Photonics is stepping up its push to redefine how machines capture and process light after securing $2.15 million in an oversubscribed funding round. Led by ACF Investors and backed by Wren Capital, Cambridge Angels, Scottish Enterprise, Quantum Exponential and Old College Capital, the investment will help the company expand its engineering team, develop new image sensors and respond to growing demand for its technology.
Funding to accelerate photon powered vision
The company develops image sensors built around single photon avalanche diode technology, commonly known as SPAD. Unlike conventional image sensors that primarily record the intensity of light, SPAD technology can detect individual photons and determine when they arrive. This adds information about both the timing and depth of light, enabling richer forms of imaging.
Turning sensors into computing platforms
Singular Photonics is taking the technology further by embedding digital processing directly into its sensors. The company’s approach turns SPAD devices into computational platforms capable of photon counting, timing and more advanced processing such as autocorrelation.
Processing information on the sensor can reduce the amount of data that needs to move to an external processor while allowing systems to analyse information closer to the point where light is detected. The company says this approach can enable faster and more efficient imaging while reducing power and data transfer requirements.
The technology has roots in research at the University of Edinburgh’s CMOS Sensors and Systems group, led by digital imaging researcher Professor Robert Henderson. Singular Photonics was subsequently established as a fabless semiconductor company focused on commercialising advanced SPAD technology.
Two products already on the market
Singular Photonics currently offers two sensor families, Andarta and Sirona.
Andarta is the company’s flagship sensor and uses a 512 by 512 SPAD array with 3D stacked CMOS technology. It is designed to perform sophisticated imaging tasks while carrying out computation directly on the chip. The company has demonstrated Andarta for diffuse correlation spectroscopy, including real time monitoring of blood flow through tissue.
Sirona is a SPAD line sensor designed for applications requiring highly precise photon timing. Its capabilities include time correlated single photon counting and on chip histogramming, making it suitable for applications such as Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging.
The technology has already moved into commercial applications. Singular Photonics has worked with Renishaw to integrate its Sirona sensor into a new time resolved Raman spectroscopy capability designed to help researchers capture Raman signals that can otherwise be obscured by fluorescence.
Broadening industrial applications
The company sees opportunities well beyond traditional imaging. Its sensors are being developed for scientific research, medical imaging, machine vision, environmental sensing and quantum technologies. Their sensitivity and precise timing can also support applications involving quantum imaging, quantum computing and quantum optics research.
Andarta’s compact architecture is particularly suited to applications requiring real time processing. In a recent demonstration, Singular Photonics showed the sensor monitoring blood flow dynamics through a fingertip without invasive equipment, with computation performed directly on the chip.
Experienced semiconductor leadership
Alongside the funding announcement, Singular Photonics has strengthened its board with the appointment of Dipesh Patel, former chief technology officer of semiconductor giant Arm.
His experience adds further semiconductor expertise as Singular Photonics moves from commercially available products toward a broader portfolio of next generation sensors.
The fresh capital will ultimately be directed toward increasing engineering capacity, developing additional SPAD based products and accelerating commercialisation as customer demand grows. With its combination of single photon detection and on chip computation, Singular Photonics is positioning itself at the intersection of advanced semiconductors, intelligent imaging and edge computing.