Journal
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS I-REGULAR PAPERS
Volume 68, Issue 5, Pages 1827-1840Publisher
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
DOI: 10.1109/TCSI.2021.3068595
Keywords
MWIR; HOT; open-circuit; ROIC; uncooled
Categories
Funding
- Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) [FA8650-18-2-7876]
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A new imaging pixel unit-cell topology leveraging a photodetector in the forward-bias region is proposed, showing performance benefits compared to a conventional pixel through theoretical analysis and experimentation. The results demonstrate significant improvements in system sensitivity and dynamic range with the new pixel architecture.
An imaging pixel unit-cell topology leveraging a photodetector in the forward-bias region is proposed. Connecting the anode of the photodiode to the gate of a NMOS device operating in the subthreshold region provides the basis for a new open-circuit voltage pixel (VocP) architecture. Theoretical analysis is presented to show the response and performance benefits of the VocP in comparison to a conventional pixel. Based on this analysis, the signal and noise relationships for both pixels are derived and leveraged to construct an end-to-end readout system model. The model results highlight potential performance benefits of the VocP over a conventional direct-injection pixel topology. To verify the analysis, the proposed VocP readout architecture is fabricated along with a conventional direct-injection pixel readout in a 0.18 mu m CMOS technology. The VocP performance is compared to a traditional reverse-bias current-mode photodetector configuration. Simulation, modeling, and measurements align with the proposed analytical model. Benefits in system sensitivity and dynamic range are demonstrated showing more than a 2x improvement in noise-equivalent temperature difference and a 4 dB improvement in dynamic range.
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