Leonard J. M. Esser

The tacking CCD: a new CCD concept

The tacking CCD is a new type of charge transport mechanism that is suitable for junction- and MOS-type CCDs. A specific form, the trenched tacking CCD (TTCCD), promises high pixel density and high charge handling capability per unit of surface area. The charge handling capability is improved by using a trench to increase the charge storage area. With the new design concept it becomes possible to put the gates entirely into trenches, while simultaneously using the trenches as channel stops. The TTCCD structure is suitable for making new types of solid-state image sensors with increased light sensitivity, and it may be possible to incorporate a vertical overflow drain. First samples of the TTCCD have been realized, and its functionality has been confirmed. >

The Pan-Imager

The concept of a new type of CCD-imager is presented that uses both electrons and holes as information carriers. The device contains two separately operating p- and n-type imagers and is called PAN-imager. The p- and n-type pixels are situated in an interdot structure. Furthermore the total number of pixels as well as the number of signal charges is doubled without an increase in area. By this an improvement in resolution, light sensitivity and Moire suppression is obtained. Moreover it yields an improved contour correction. Concept, operation and properties of the PAN-imager are discussed.

A twin-channel (p and n) FT-CCD imager with cross-antiblooming

A new class of Frame-Transfer CCD image sensors is presented, which is based on the use of both electrons and holes as information carriers and has a novel cross-antiblooming structure for overexposure protection. The device consists of alternate columns of p- and n-channel CCDs, which form two separately operating p and n imagers. This concept is based on the use of the n channel as a channel isolator for the p channel and vice versa and has five advantages. First, the complete area of the image section is active because no light-insensitive channel stop area is required. Secondly, both generated carriers electrons and holes can be stored and transported simultaneously. Thirdly, in a typical four-phase clocking system the electron pixels and the hole pixels are separated by half a pixel pitch in both the vertical and horizontal directions, which improves the pixel-packing density and aliasing suppression. Fourthly, the pattern also forms a line-quincunx sampling grid, which offers many advantages for signal processing, especially as the p- and n-output signals are simultaneously available. Finally, this pixel configuration is also ideally suitable for realizing a progressive-scan imager and a color imager.