Open AccessA 0.27e-rms Read Noise 220-μV/e-Conversion Gain Reset-Gate-Less CMOS Image Sensor With 0.11-μm CIS Process
Author(s) -
Min-Woong Seo,
Shoji Kawahito,
Keiichiro Kagawa,
Keita Yasutomi
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
ieee electron device letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.337
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1558-0563
pISSN - 0741-3106
DOI - 10.1109/led.2015.2496359
Subject(s) - engineered materials, dielectrics and plasmas , components, circuits, devices and systems
A low temporal read noise and high conversion gain reset-gate-less CMOS image sensor (CIS) has been developed and demonstrated for the first time at photoelectron-counting-level imaging. To achieve a high pixel conversion gain without fine or special processes, the proposed pixel has two unique structures: 1) coupling capacitance between the transfer gate and floating diffusion (FD) and 2) coupling capacitance between the reset gate and FD, for removing parasitic capacitances around the FD node. As a result, a CIS with the proposed pixels is able to achieve a high pixel conversion gain of 220 μV/e- and a low read noise of 0.27erms- using correlated multiple-sampling-based readout circuitry.