Improved Design of Active Pixel CMOS Sensors for Charged Particle Detection

[摘要] The Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear physics program requires developments in detector instrumentation electronics with improved energy, position and timing resolution, sensitivity, rate capability, stability, dynamic range, and background suppression. The current Phase-I project was focused on analysis of standard-CMOS photogate Active Pixel Sensors (APS) as an efficient solution to this challenge. The advantages of the CMOS APS over traditional hybrid approaches (i.e., separate detection regions bump-bonded to readout circuits) include greatly reduced cost, low power and the potential for vastly larger pixel counts and densities. However, challenges remain in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and readout speed (currently on the order of milliseconds), which is the major problem for this technology. Recent work has shown that the long readout time for photogate APS is due to the presence of (interface) traps at the semiconductor-oxide interface. This Phase-I work yielded useful results in two areas: (a) Advanced three-dimensional (3D) physics-based simulation models and simulation-based analysis of the impact of interface trap density on the transient charge collection characteristics of existing APS structures; and (b) Preliminary analysis of the feasibility of an improved photogate pixel structure (i.e., new APS design) with an induced electric field under the charge collecting electrode to enhance charge collection. Significant effort was dedicated in Phase-I to the critical task of implementing accurate interface trap models in CFDRC's NanoTCAD 3D semiconductor device-physics simulator. This resulted in validation of the new NanoTCAD models and simulation results against experimental (published) data, within the margin of uncertainty associated with obtaining device geometry, material properties, and experimentation details. Analyses of the new, proposed photogate APS design demonstrated several promising trends.

[发布日期] 2007-11-12