Graphene Channel Electron-Multiplying Charge-Coupled Pixel

Abstract

Traditional electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices suffer from slow readout and large power consumption because of the complex driving circuitry implemented for the square clocking to serially transfer the charge during the readout process. At the same time, the photo-generated carriers are also prone to pre-amplification losses. Owing to the electrostatic capacitive coupling of the tunable graphene channel with the silicon photogate, an in-situ transient photoresponse study of the single graphene-oxide-silicon heterostructure driven into pre-avalanche condition by a fast sinusoidal gating signal is presented. This technique paves the way for futuristic sinusoidally driven, graphene-based, out-of-plane electron-multiplication charge-coupled devices with specific low-power surveillance and adaptive optics applications. The operating scheme of the device demonstrates the excellent capability for sensing short and small bursts of photons (25 nW). The maximum multiplication factor of ~8.5 and responsivity of 350 A/W are achieved. The operating equipment limitations and their respective solutions are also discussed.