Single-Electron Quantization of Dark Current in Quanta Image Sensors

Area of Science:

• Semiconductor Physics
• Image Sensor Technology

Background:

• Dark current is a significant noise source in image sensors.
• Characterizing dark current is crucial for high-precision imaging applications.
• Existing methods for dark current analysis can be resource-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate dark current in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) based quanta image sensors (QIS).
• To analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics of dark current quantization.
• To establish a simplified method for sensor characterization based on dark current behavior.

Main Methods:

• Experimental measurement of dark current in a QIS device.
• Analysis of dark carrier emission timing.
• Statistical analysis of carrier generation events.

Main Results:

• Observed spatial and temporal quantization of dark current due to low noise levels.
• Confirmed that dark carrier generation follows a Poisson process.
• Demonstrated that the mean of the Poisson distribution is sufficient for sensor characterization.

Conclusions:

• A simplified Poisson process model effectively characterizes QIS dark current.
• This method significantly reduces measurement and computational demands.
• Findings advance understanding of dark current mechanisms and improve semiconductor device design for applications in particle detection and quantum sensing.