Statistical Analysis of the Random Telegraph Noise in a 1.1 μm Pixel, 8.3 MP CMOS Image Sensor Using On-Chip Time Constant Extraction Method

Calvin Yi-Ping Chao; Honyih Tu; Thomas Meng-Hsiu Wu; Kuo-Yu Chou; Shang-Fu Yeh; Chin Yin; Chih-Lin Lee

doi:10.3390/s17122704

Statistical Analysis of the Random Telegraph Noise in a 1.1 μm Pixel, 8.3 MP CMOS Image Sensor Using On-Chip Time Constant Extraction Method

Sensors (Basel). 2017 Nov 23;17(12):2704. doi: 10.3390/s17122704.

Authors

Calvin Yi-Ping Chao¹, Honyih Tu², Thomas Meng-Hsiu Wu³, Kuo-Yu Chou⁴, Shang-Fu Yeh⁵, Chin Yin⁶, Chih-Lin Lee⁷

Affiliations

¹ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. calvin_chao@tsmc.com.
² Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. hytu@tsmc.com.
³ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. mhwuzd@tsmc.com.
⁴ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. kychouc@tsmc.com.
⁵ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. sfyehe@tsmc.com.
⁶ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. cyin@tsmc.com.
⁷ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. clleeza@tsmc.com.

Abstract

A study of the random telegraph noise (RTN) of a 1.1 μm pitch, 8.3 Mpixel CMOS image sensor (CIS) fabricated in a 45 nm backside-illumination (BSI) technology is presented in this paper. A noise decomposition scheme is used to pinpoint the noise source. The long tail of the random noise (RN) distribution is directly linked to the RTN from the pixel source follower (SF). The full 8.3 Mpixels are classified into four categories according to the observed RTN histogram peaks. A theoretical formula describing the RTN as a function of the time difference between the two phases of the correlated double sampling (CDS) is derived and validated by measured data. An on-chip time constant extraction method is developed and applied to the RTN analysis. The effects of readout circuit bandwidth on the settling ratios of the RTN histograms are investigated and successfully accounted for in a simulation using a RTN behavior model.

Keywords: CMOS image sensor (CIS); Gumbel distribution; RTN emission and capture time constant; backside-illuminated technology (BSI); correlated double sampling (CDS); pinned photodiode (PPD); random telegraph noise (RTN).