Photon-to-digital photodiode imaging array

William J. Mandl

doi:10.1117/12.445323

10 October 2001 Photon-to-digital photodiode imaging array

William J. Mandl

Proceedings Volume 4369, Infrared Technology and Applications XXVII; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.445323
Event: Aerospace/Defense Sensing, Simulation, and Controls, 2001, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

MOSAD©, Multiplexed OverSample Analog to Digital conversion, is a low power on focal plane analog to digital, A/D, process that places an oversample A/D at each pixel site. Two designs for a visible light staring array were developed with this approach. One used a silicon photo diode and the other used a photo gate for detection. The array was designed with a 320 X 240 format with the pixels placed on 16 micron centers. There are a total of 76,800 A/D's on the chip. The device is a monolithic integrated circuit that includes the sensors, A/D's and readout circuitry. A production 1.2 micron CCD/CMOS process was used in it construction. The A/D uses charge well switching at the pixel to convert the accumulated analog signal to digital data. There was negligible impact on the pixel area due to the A/D such that a fill factor of 73% was achieved with front side illumination for both approaches. At 400 samples per second, measured on chip power consumption is under 10 milliwatts. Noise measurements at sample rates from 400 samples per second to 1,600 samples per second were taken for both parts. It was found that the photo gate noise performance was four times better than the photo diode. At a nominal 28 times oversample, the photo diode obtained 8 to 9 bits performance and the photo gate achieved 10 to 11 bits. Nonuniformity variation was below the noise floor. No explanation for the difference in noise performance has yet been determined. This development was sponsored by NASA under a SBIR program.

Citation Download Citation

William J. Mandl "Photon-to-digital photodiode imaging array", Proc. SPIE 4369, Infrared Technology and Applications XXVII, (10 October 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.445323

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available