A high performance active pixel sensor with 0.18um CMOS color imager technology

A high performance 0.18 um CMOS image sensor technology has been successfully developed and fully characterized. 3T active pixel sensor (APS) with non-silicide source/drain process is provided to reduce dark current and increase photoresponse. By optimizing photodiode junction profile with the appropriate thermal cycle, the dark current can be drastically reduced. Small pixel pitch 2.8um/spl sim/4.0um demonstrates the low dark current (less 0.2 fA/pixel), the excellent sensitivity and dynamic range. Especially, the superior standard deviation of dark signal 8.3 mV/sec, will offer a low white pixel technology. The color pixel performance with microlens is also reported in this paper.