Eugene D. Savoye

High Sensitivity Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) Imagers For Television

In this paper we report on new, fully manufacturable, high sensitivity frame-transfer-type charge coupled device (CCD) image sensors developed for high performance television applications including low light level surveillance and color broadcast cameras. A novel feature of these charge coupled device (CCD) imagers is a thinned configuration which allows illumination from the backside of the device, providing very high quantum efficiency in excess of 60% over the entire visible spectrum for the whole imager area with anti-blooming drains. This high quantum efficiency, together with the very low noise charge coupled device (CCD) read-out capability of less than 35 electrons root mean square (rms) per pixel provides outstanding low-light-level camera performance.