Simulation And Measurements Of Stray Minority Carrier Protection Structures In Cmos Image Sensors

• doi: 10.1109/TED.2010.2055275
• title: Simulation and Measurements of Stray Minority Carrier Protection Structures in CMOS Image Sensors
• publisher: IEEE
• isbn:
• issn: 1557-9646
• rank: 3557
• access_type: LOCKED
• content_type: Journals
• abstract: Recently, the rapid growth of CMOS technology has made it possible to integrate more periphery circuits into a CMOS image sensor. Although these periphery circuits improve image quality, they also lead to the generation of more stray minority carriers. Because the number of stray minority carriers is proportional to the frequency, the affected region increases with increasing operating frequency. Placing an appropriate absorber between the periphery circuits and the pixel has traditionally been accepted as the best solution for this issue. Four protection tactics were simulated in software and verified in a fabricated CMOS image sensor. The imager was fabricated using TSMC 1-poly 6-metal 0.18-μm process technology. On this chip, ten noise sources outside the pixel array were used to verify the effectiveness of the protection tactics in off-array tests, whereas in-pixel noise sources were used in in-pixel tests. To quantify the influence of stray minority carriers in the off-array test, the maximum depth of an affected region (DAR) was measured in a processed binary image. The off-array experimental results revealed that the DAR increased with either an increased operating frequency or a decreased separation between the noise source and the pixel array. The DAR of the affected pixels can be eliminated up to 48.1% and 23.8% by using the N-well and N-diffusion guard rings, respectively. The in-pixel experimental results have shown that the N-diffusion digital pixel implementation reduced the noise by 63.2% while only increasing the area by 10.68%. Detailed information about the effectiveness of different protection tactics in an imager design was collected in this paper. This paper can potentially provide a reference to help imager designers choose an appropriate protection tactic.
• article_number: 5508387
• pdf_url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5508387
• html_url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5508387/
• abstract_url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5508387/
• publication_title: IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
• conference_location:
• conference_dates:
• publication_number: 16
• is_number: 5552158
• publication_year: 2010
• publication_date: Sept. 2010
• start_page: 2213
• end_page: 2220
• citing_paper_count: 3
• citing_patent_count: 0
• download_count: 362
• insert_date: 20100712
• index_terms:
  • ieee_terms:
    • Pixel
    • Noise
    • Arrays
    • Substrates
    • Transistors
    • Photodiodes
  • author_terms:
    • CMOS image sensor
    • N-diffusion guard ring
    • N-well guard ring
  • dynamic_index_terms:
    • Image Sensor
    • Camera Sensor
    • Minority Carrier
    • Noise Sources
    • Binary Image
    • Operating Frequency
    • Pixel Array
    • Solutions For Issues
    • Solution For These Issues
    • Recombination
    • Meiosis
    • Meiotic
    • Dynamic Range
    • Penetration Depth
    • Analog-to-digital Converter
    • Analog-to-digital
    • Digital-to-analog Converter
    • Photocurrent
    • Absorption Efficiency
    • Concentration Efficiency
    • Switching Frequency
    • External Signals
    • Separation Distance
    • Depletion Region
    • Space Charge Region
    • Depletion Layer
    • Depletion Zone
    • Average Image
    • Source Frequency
    • Excess Carriers
    • P-type Substrate
    • Independent Input
• authors:
  • Author Name: Dong-Long Lin
    Affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    Author URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37531499400
    ID: 37531499400
    Order: 1
    Author Affiliations:
    • Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
  • Author Name: Ching-Chun Wang
    Affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    Author URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37440784200
    ID: 37440784200
    Order: 2
    Author Affiliations:
    • Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    • R&D Department, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, Hsinchu, Taiwan
  • Author Name: Chia-Ling Wei
    Affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
    Author URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37419349600
    ID: 37419349600
    Order: 3
    Author Affiliations:
    • Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

Image Sensor

• sensor_type: CMOS
• resolution: 50x100 for analog pixels; 38x20 for digital pixels
• dynamic_range: High
• pixel_size: 3.9 µm x 3.9 µm for analog pixels; 10.43 µm x 18.76 µm for digital pixels
• dark_current: Not specified

Optical Data

• focal_length: Not specified
• aperture: Not specified
• field_of_view: Not specified
• distortion: Not specified

Performance Metrics

• noise: Increased noise due to stray minority carriers; noise reduction of 63.2% with N-diffusion guard ring in digital pixels.

Applications & Benefits

• cell_imaging: Application in CMOS image sensors for high-speed digital imaging.
• benefits: Improved image quality due to reduced noise and high dynamic range.

Supporting Organizations

• supported_by: National Science Council, Taiwan; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu.

Manuscript Details

• publication_date: Sept. 2010

Relevancy Score

• score: 9
• missing_fields:
  • focal_length
  • aperture
  • field_of_view
  • distortion
  • frame_rate
  • signal_to_noise_ratio
  • sensitivity
  • shutter_speed
  • power_consumption

Processed JSON Filename

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