Improved 512 x 512 IRCSD with large fill factor and high-saturation level

We have improved the performance of a 512 X 512 element PtSi Schottky-barrier infrared image sensor (512 X 512 IRCSD) by increasing the fill factor and saturation signal level. The sensor consists of 26 micrometers X 20 micrometers pixels in a 512 X 512 array format and has a large fill factor of 71% obtained with 1.2 micrometers minimum design rules and the charge sweep device (CSD) readout architecture. The improved 512 X 512 IRCSD was designed to be operated in either a field or frame integration interlace mode. The saturation signal level of the CSD imager is determined by the storage capacity of the Schottky-barrier detector (SBD). We optimized the structure and impurity concentration of the isolation region of the SBD in order to increase the large storage capacity. For an SBD reset voltage of 4 V, a saturation signal level and differential temperature response at 300 K were 2.9 X 10 6 electrons and 3.2 X 10 4 electrons/K, respectively. The noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) at 300 K is estimated as 0.033 K with an f/1.2 cold shield.