A 1/2.3-inch 10.3Mpixel 50frame/s Back-Illuminated CMOS image sensor

Hayato Wakabayashi,Masahiro Hatano,Kentaro Akiyama,Ken Koseki,Souichiro Kuramochi,Keiji Yamaguchi,Takeshi Shikanai,Oichi Kumagai,Tomoyuki Honda,Yuuki Yamagata,Eiji Miyata,Keiji Mabuchi,Masaru Kikuchi,Masamichi Ito,Masafumi Okano,Seijiro Sakane,Tetsuo Nomoto,Masanori Ohashi,Yasushi Maruyama

doi:10.1109/isscc.2010.5433963

Abstract

This paper presents a 1/2.3-inch 10.3Mpixel Back-Illuminated (BI) CMOS image sensor that targets both digital still camera (DSC) and high-definition camcorder applications. These applications require high-pixel-count, high-sensitivity, high saturation signal, low noise and high-speed imaging for image quality [1]. The sensor is scaled down to get a higher resolution due to higher pixel count. Several approaches such as a Cu process to reduce the pixel height and inner micro-lenses to gather rays of incident light have been proposed to overcome electro-optical challenges [2–4]. The BI process has been reported as one of the most promising technologies to improve optical performance [5,9]. This BI image sensor includes a 10b/12b analog-to-digital converter (ADC), an internal phase-locked loop (PLL) and a 10b serial LVDS interface to enable a data-rate up to 576MHz.

Full Text