Design Considerations for Area-Constrained In-Pixel Photon Counting in Medipix3

Hybrid pixel detectors process impinging photons using front-end electronics electrically connected to a segmented sensor via solder bumps. This allows for complex in-pixel processing while maintaining 100% fill factor. Medipix3 is a single photon processing chip whose 55 μm x 55 μm pixels contain analog charge-processing circuits, inter-pixel routing, and digital blocks. While a standard digital design flow would use logic gates from a standard cell library, the integration of multiple functions and configurations within the compact area of the Medipix3 pixel requires a full-custom manual layout. This work describes the various area-saving design strategies which were employed to optimize the use of available space in the digital section of the Medipix3 pixel.