The company’s University of Edinburgh origins

Singular Photonics is a University of Edinburgh spinout originating from research led by Professor Robert Henderson. The company’s foundations lie in digital imaging and the development of nanometre-CMOS SPAD image sensors, including work on time-of-flight technology.

As a fabless semiconductor company, Singular Photonics focuses on designing its sensor technology rather than manufacturing chips through its own fabrication plant. Its stated goal is to make photon-level sensing more useful in compact, real-time systems.

How SPAD-based imaging works

A conventional image sensor generally measures accumulated light over an exposure. A SPAD sensor instead detects individual photons and records when they arrive. That combination of photon counting and precise timing can provide information about light intensity, distance, material properties and changes in tissue, depending on how the sensor is configured.

Singular Photonics’ approach is to combine 3D-stacked SPAD arrays with computation beneath the sensing layer. Processing functions can be performed at, or close to, the pixel, including photon counting, timing, histogram generation, statistical analysis and autocorrelation.

Moving more of that work onto the sensor is intended to reduce the need to transfer raw data elsewhere and support real-time intelligent sensing. The company positions the approach as a way to address the size, latency and power constraints of edge and AI-based systems.

Andarta: compact sensing for medical imaging

Andarta is a compact, high-sensitivity SPAD sensor developed with Meta. Singular Photonics positions it for medical-imaging modalities and as a step toward integrating SPAD technology into wearable devices.

The product supports in-pixel autocorrelation, a capability that can be used to analyse rapid fluctuations in light. One example described by the company is monitoring cerebral blood-flow rates by tracking light changes as it passes through tissue, including at depths that existing sensors cannot reach.

The important product distinction is that Andarta is not presented simply as a more sensitive camera. Its combination of photon-level detection, compact form factor and local processing is aimed at making advanced optical measurements more practical in medical and potentially wearable systems.

Sirona: a 512-pixel sensor for timing and spectroscopy

Sirona is Singular Photonics’ first product: a 512-pixel SPAD line sensor capable of time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC). Its on-chip histogramming and time-binning functions are designed to help applications analyse when photons arrive rather than only how many arrive.

The company identifies several potential uses for Sirona:

• Raman spectroscopy
• Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM)
• Time-of-flight sensing
• Quantum applications

These applications span scientific instrumentation and industrial sensing. For example, timing information can help distinguish materials or measure optical travel time, while fluorescence-lifetime measurements can reveal properties that are not visible in a conventional intensity image.

Where Singular Photonics is targeting the technology

Singular Photonics identifies three main application areas:

Industrial and physical AI

Machine vision, industrial automation and physical AI are intended markets for sensors that can interpret optical information quickly and locally. On-chip processing could be useful where latency, data movement or system size limits the use of conventional camera architectures.

Scientific discovery and instrumentation

Sirona’s TCSPC, histogramming and time-binning capabilities are aligned with spectroscopy, microscopy, time-of-flight and quantum applications. These fields often depend on extracting information from very small numbers of photons and on measuring their arrival times accurately.

Medical imaging and wearables

Andarta is aimed at medical imaging, with potential wearable integration. Its in-pixel autocorrelation capability is positioned for measurements such as cerebral blood-flow monitoring, where sensitivity and compactness are important.

The company has also described broader positioning in consumer and automotive electronics, although the August funding announcement highlights machine vision, industrial automation, scientific instrumentation and medical imaging as key markets.

What the new funding is meant to achieve

The immediate use of the $2.15 million is operational and commercial: Singular Photonics plans to grow its engineering capacity, accelerate product development and bring a wider range of SPAD image sensors to market faster.

The board appointment of Dipesh Patel adds senior semiconductor experience as the company moves from an emerging University of Edinburgh spinout toward broader commercialisation. Patel spent 25 years at Arm and, as CTO, oversaw its Research and Digital IT functions.

The funding therefore supports more than a single sensor launch. It gives Singular Photonics resources to develop a product family built around a shared idea: detect individual photons, process more of the resulting data on the chip and adapt that architecture to industrial, scientific and medical systems.

The company’s University of Edinburgh origins

Singular Photonics is a University of Edinburgh spinout originating from research led by Professor Robert Henderson. The company’s foundations lie in digital imaging and the development of nanometre-CMOS SPAD image sensors, including work on time-of-flight technology.

As a fabless semiconductor company, Singular Photonics focuses on designing its sensor technology rather than manufacturing chips through its own fabrication plant. Its stated goal is to make photon-level sensing more useful in compact, real-time systems.

How SPAD-based imaging works

A conventional image sensor generally measures accumulated light over an exposure. A SPAD sensor instead detects individual photons and records when they arrive. That combination of photon counting and precise timing can provide information about light intensity, distance, material properties and changes in tissue, depending on how the sensor is configured.

Singular Photonics’ approach is to combine 3D-stacked SPAD arrays with computation beneath the sensing layer. Processing functions can be performed at, or close to, the pixel, including photon counting, timing, histogram generation, statistical analysis and autocorrelation.

Moving more of that work onto the sensor is intended to reduce the need to transfer raw data elsewhere and support real-time intelligent sensing. The company positions the approach as a way to address the size, latency and power constraints of edge and AI-based systems.

Andarta: compact sensing for medical imaging

Andarta is a compact, high-sensitivity SPAD sensor developed with Meta. Singular Photonics positions it for medical-imaging modalities and as a step toward integrating SPAD technology into wearable devices.

The product supports in-pixel autocorrelation, a capability that can be used to analyse rapid fluctuations in light. One example described by the company is monitoring cerebral blood-flow rates by tracking light changes as it passes through tissue, including at depths that existing sensors cannot reach.

The important product distinction is that Andarta is not presented simply as a more sensitive camera. Its combination of photon-level detection, compact form factor and local processing is aimed at making advanced optical measurements more practical in medical and potentially wearable systems.

Sirona: a 512-pixel sensor for timing and spectroscopy

Sirona is Singular Photonics’ first product: a 512-pixel SPAD line sensor capable of time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC). Its on-chip histogramming and time-binning functions are designed to help applications analyse when photons arrive rather than only how many arrive.

The company identifies several potential uses for Sirona:

• Raman spectroscopy
• Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM)
• Time-of-flight sensing
• Quantum applications

These applications span scientific instrumentation and industrial sensing. For example, timing information can help distinguish materials or measure optical travel time, while fluorescence-lifetime measurements can reveal properties that are not visible in a conventional intensity image.

Where Singular Photonics is targeting the technology

Singular Photonics identifies three main application areas:

Industrial and physical AI

Machine vision, industrial automation and physical AI are intended markets for sensors that can interpret optical information quickly and locally. On-chip processing could be useful where latency, data movement or system size limits the use of conventional camera architectures.

Scientific discovery and instrumentation

Sirona’s TCSPC, histogramming and time-binning capabilities are aligned with spectroscopy, microscopy, time-of-flight and quantum applications. These fields often depend on extracting information from very small numbers of photons and on measuring their arrival times accurately.

Medical imaging and wearables

Andarta is aimed at medical imaging, with potential wearable integration. Its in-pixel autocorrelation capability is positioned for measurements such as cerebral blood-flow monitoring, where sensitivity and compactness are important.

The company has also described broader positioning in consumer and automotive electronics, although the August funding announcement highlights machine vision, industrial automation, scientific instrumentation and medical imaging as key markets.

What the new funding is meant to achieve

The immediate use of the $2.15 million is operational and commercial: Singular Photonics plans to grow its engineering capacity, accelerate product development and bring a wider range of SPAD image sensors to market faster.

The board appointment of Dipesh Patel adds senior semiconductor experience as the company moves from an emerging University of Edinburgh spinout toward broader commercialisation. Patel spent 25 years at Arm and, as CTO, oversaw its Research and Digital IT functions.

The funding therefore supports more than a single sensor launch. It gives Singular Photonics resources to develop a product family built around a shared idea: detect individual photons, process more of the resulting data on the chip and adapt that architecture to industrial, scientific and medical systems.