Radiation Hardness Comparison of CMOS Image Sensor Technologies at High Total Ionizing Dose Levels

S. Rizzolo (1) , V. Goiffon (1) , F. Corbiere (1) , R. Molina (1) , A. Chabane (1) , S. Girard (2) , P. Paillet (3) , P. Magnan (1) , A. Boukenter (2) , T. Allanche (2) , C. Muller (3, 2) , C. Monsanglant-Louvet (4) , M. Osmond (4) , H. Desjonqueres (4) , J-R Mace (5) , P. Burnichon (6) , J-P Baudu (6) , S. Plumeri (7)

1 ISAE-SUPAERO - Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace
2 LHC - Laboratoire Hubert Curien
3 DAM/DIF - DAM Île-de-France
4 IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire
5 Orano
6 OPTSYS
7 ANDRA - Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs

The impact of the manufacturing process on the radiation-induced degradation effects observed in CMOS image sensors (CISs) at the MGy total ionizing dose (TID) levels is investigated. Moreover, the vulnerability of the partially pinned PHDs at moderate-to-high TIDs is evaluated for the first time to our knowledge (PHD stands for “photodiode”). It is shown that the 3T-standard partially pinned PHD has the lowest dark current before irradiation, but its dark current increases to ~1 pA at 10 kGy(SiO 2 ). Beyond 10 kGy(SiO 2 ), the pixel functionality is lost. The comparison between several CIS technologies points out that the manufacturing process impacts the two main radiation-induced degradations: the threshold voltage shift of the readout chain MOSFETs and the dark current increase. For all the tested technologies, 1.8-V MOSFETs exhibit the lower threshold voltage shift, and the nMOSFETs are the most radiation tolerant. Among all the tested devices, 1.8-V sensors achieve the best dark current performance. Several radiation-hardening-by-design solutions are evaluated at the MGy level to improve further the understanding of CIS radiation hardening at extreme TID.

Mots clés: CMOS image sensors (CISs); Dark current; Drain; Gate overlap; Partially pinned PHD; Radiation effects; Radiation hardening by design (RHBD); Threshold shift; Total ionizing dose (TID)

Domaines: Optique / photonique; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

S. Rizzolo, V. Goiffon, F. Corbiere, R. Molina, A. Chabane, et al.. Radiation Hardness Comparison of CMOS Image Sensor Technologies at High Total Ionizing Dose Levels. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 2019, 66 (1), pp.111-119. ⟨10.1109/TNS.2018.2884037⟩. ⟨ujm-01964631⟩