Toward Super Temporal Resolution by Suppression of Mixing Effects of Electrons

The theoretical temporal resolution limit of silicon (Si) image sensors is 11.1 ps. The super temporal resolution (STR) is defined as a frame interval less than this limit. The temporal resolution of burst image sensors is significantly affected by “mixing” of signal electrons traveling from different starting positions. For example, the penetration depths of photons incident to a surface of a photodiode (PD) disperse exponentially, resulting in mixing of the photoelectrons from different depths at the other end, which causes a distribution of the arrival times. The temporal resolution is proportional to the standard deviation of the arrival time. Toward STR imaging, this article proposes measures to suppress various mixing phenomena during the travel of the signal electrons: 1) a germanium (Ge) PD for visible light to practically eliminate the effect of vertical mixing caused by the distribution of the penetration depth; 2) an inverted pyramid PD to efficiently suppress the horizontal mixing, keeping a 100% fill factor; 3) a standard column PD with negative potential on the vertical walls to squeeze the trajectory bundle of electrons falling on the guide gate on the front side; and 4) a resistive guide gate to linearize the potential profile to maximize the horizontal drift velocity to minimize the mixing together with the squeezed electron bundle.