Patrick Maillart

A 25μm pitch LWIR focal plane array with pixel-level 15-bit ADC providing high well capacity and targeting 2mK NETD

CEA Leti has recently developed a new readout IC (ROIC) with pixel-level ADC for cooled infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs). It operates at 50Hz frame rate in a snapshot Integrate-While-Read (IWR) mode. It targets applications that provide a large amount of integrated charge thanks to a long integration time. The pixel-level analog-to-digital conversion is based on charge packets counting. This technique offers a large well capacity that paves the way for a breakthrough in NETD performances. The 15 bits ADC resolution preserves the excellent detector SNR at full well (3Ge-). These characteristics are essential for LWIR FPAs as broad intra-scene dynamic range imaging requires high sensitivity. The ROIC, featuring a 320x256 array with 25μm pixel pitch, has been designed in a standard 0.18μm CMOS technology. The main design challenges for this digital pixel array (SNR, power consumption and layout density) are discussed. The IC has been hybridized to a LWIR detector fabricated using our in-house HgCdTe process. The first electro-optical test results of the detector dewar assembly are presented. They validate both the pixel-level ADC concept and its circuit implementation. Finally, the benefit of this LWIR FPA in terms of NETD performance is demonstrated.

A 25μm pitch LWIR staring focal plane array with pixel-level 15-bit ADC ROIC achieving 2mK NETD

CEA-Leti MINATEC has been involved in infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) development since many years, with performing HgCdTe in-house process from SWIR to LWIR and more recently in focusing its work on new ROIC architectures. The trend is to integrate advanced functions into the CMOS design for the purpose of applications demanding a breakthrough in Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) performances (reaching the mK in LWIR band) or a high dynamic range (HDR) with high-gain APDs. In this paper, we present a mid-TV format focal plane array (FPA) operating in LWIR with 25μm pixel pitch, including a new readout IC (ROIC) architecture based on pixel-level charge packets counting. The ROIC has been designed in a standard 0.18μm 6-metal CMOS process, LWIR n/p HgCdTe detectors were fabricated with CEA-Leti in-house process. The FPA operates at 50Hz frame rate in a snapshot integrate-while-read (IWR) mode, allowing a large integration time. While classical pixel architectures are limited by the charge well capacity, this architecture exhibits a large well capacity (near 3Ge-) and the 15-bit pixel level ADC preserves an excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at full well. These characteristics are essential for LWIR FPAs as broad intra-scene dynamic range imaging requires high sensitivity. The main design challenges for this digital pixel array (SNR, power consumption and layout density) are discussed. The electro-optical results demonstrating a peak NETD value of 2mK and images taken with the FPA are presented. They validate both the pixel-level ADC concept and its circuit implementation. A previously unreleased SNR of 90dB is achieved.

Advanced ROICs design for cooled IR detectors

The CMOS silicon focal plan array technologies hybridized with infrared detectors materials allow to cover a wide range of applications in the field of space, airborne and grounded-based imaging. Regarding other industries which are also using embedded systems, the requirements of such sensor assembly can be seen as very similar; high reliability, low weight, low power, radiation hardness for space applications and cost reduction. Comparing to CCDs technology, excepted the fact that CMOS fabrication uses standard commercial semiconductor foundry, the interest of this technology used in cooled IR sensors is its capability to operate in a wide range of temperature from 300K to cryogenic with a high density of integration and keeping at the same time good performances in term of frequency, noise and power consumption. The CMOS technology roadmap predict aggressive scaling down of device size, transistor threshold voltage, oxide and metal thicknesses to meet the growing demands for higher levels of integration and performance. At the same time infrared detectors manufacturing process is developing IR materials with a tunable cut-off wavelength capable to cover bandwidths from visible to 20μm. The requirements of third generation IR detectors are driving to scaling down the pixel pitch, to develop IR materials with high uniformity on larger formats, to develop Avalanche Photo Diodes (APD) and dual band technologies. These needs in IR detectors technologies developments associated to CMOS technology, used as a readout element, are offering new capabilities and new opportunities for cooled infrared FPAs. The exponential increase of new functionalities on chip, like the active 2D and 3D imaging, the on chip analog to digital conversion, the signal processing on chip, the bicolor, the dual band and DTI (Double Time Integration) mode ...is aiming to enlarge the field of application for cooled IR FPAs challenging by the way the design activity.

Ultra-low power ADC on chip for high-performance IR detector

The InfraRed staring arrays developed by SOFRADIR are more and more compact and offer system solutions for wide range of IR wavebands. IR detectors have been taken to an even more advanced level of sophistication to achieve staring arrays high performances. Latest developments have also been focused on the silicon readout circuit. Digital conversion on chip is one of the recent progresses in this field of activity. In order to match each system requirements, on chip high performance ultra low power ADCs have been developed. Beyond the performance aspects, digital focal plane arrays can be considered as the first step towards low cost Dewar family, since they allow for a more simple electrical interface on Dewar designs and on chip image processing. Recent results concerning these new readout circuit architectures are presented in this paper.

Update on 10μm pixel pitch MCT-based focal plane array with enhanced functionalities

Sofradir was first to show a 10μm focal plane array (FPA) in DSS 2012, and announced the DAPHNIS 10μm product family back in 2014. This pixel pitch is key for enabling more compact sensors and increased resolution. SOFRADIR recently achieved outstanding MTF demonstration at this pixel pitch, which clearly demonstrate the benefit to users of adopting 10μm pixel pitch focal plane array based detectors. The last results, and associated gain in detection performance, are discussed in this paper. Concurrently to pitch downsizing, SOFRADIR also works on a global offer using digital interfaces and smart pixel functionalities. This opens the road to enhanced functionalities such as improved image quality, higher frame rate, lower power consumption and optimum operation for wide thermal conditions scenes. This paper also discusses these enhanced features and strategies allowing easier integration of the detector in the system.

SWIR InGaAs focal plane arrays in France

SWIR detection band benefits from natural (sun, night glow, thermal radiation) or artificial (eye safe lasers) photons sources combined to low atmospheric absorption and specific contrast compared to visible wavelengths. It gives the opportunity to address a large spectrum of applications such as defense and security (night vision, active imaging), space (earth observation), transport (automotive safety) or industry (non destructive process control). InGaAs material appears as a good candidate to satisfy SWIR detection needs. The lattice matching with InP constitutes a double advantage to this material: attractive production capacity and uncooled operation thanks to low dark current level induced by high quality material. The study of InGaAs FPA has begun few years ago with III-VLab, gathering expertise in InGaAs material growth and imaging technology respectively from Alcatel-Lucent and Thales, its two mother companies. This work has led to put quickly on the market a 320x256 InGaAs module. The recent transfer of imagery activities from III-VLab to Sofradir allows developing new high performances products, satisfying customers’ new requirements. Especially, a 640x512 InGaAs module with a pitch of 15µm is actually under development to fill the needs of low light level imaging.

New developments on InGaAs focal plane array

SWIR detection band benefits from natural (sun, night glow, thermal radiation) or artificial (eye safe lasers) photons sources combined to low atmospheric absorption and specific contrast compared to visible wavelengths. It gives the opportunity to address a large spectrum of applications such as defense and security (night vision, active imaging), space (earth observation), transport (automotive safety) or industry (non destructive process control). InGaAs material appears as a good candidate to satisfy SWIR detection needs. The lattice matching with InP constitutes a double advantage to this material: attractive production capacity and uncooled operation thanks to low dark current level induced by high quality material. The recent transfer of imagery activities from III-VLab to Sofradir provides a framework for the production activity with the manufacturing of high performances products: CACTUS320 SW and CACTUS640 SW. The developments, begun at III-Vlab towards VGA format with 15μm pixel pitch, lead today to the industrialization of a new product: SNAKE SW. On one side, the InGaAs detection array presents high performances in terms of dark current and quantum efficiency. On the other side, the low noise ROIC has different additional functionalities. Then this 640×512 @ 15μm module appears as well suited to answer the needs of a wide range of applications. In this paper, we will present the Sofradir InGaAs technology, some performances optimization and the last developments leading to SNAKE SW.

High-performance and long-range cooled IR technologies in France

Cooled IR technologies that offer high performances are at the top of DEFIR’s priority list. We have been pursuing further infrared developments on future MWIR detectors, such as the VGA format HOT detector that operates at 150K and the 10μm pitch IR detector which gives us a leading position in innovation In the same time Scorpio LW expands Sofradirs line of small pixel pitch TV format IR detectors from the mid-wavelength to the long-wavelength, broadening the performance attributes of its long wave IR product line. Finally, our dual band MW-LW QWIP detectors (25μm, 384×288 pixels) benefit to tactical platforms giving an all-weather performance and increasing flexibility in the presence of battlefield obscurants. These detectors are designed for long-range surveillance equipment, commander or gunner sights, ground-toground missile launchers and other applications that require higher resolution and sensitivity to improve reconnaissance and target identification. This paper discusses the system level performance in each detector type.

A comparative study of on chip decorrelation schemes for low power, high resolution infrared sensors

This paper discusses in-sensor decorrelation schemes for infrared applications. These applications require high image quality and low power consumption. Different scenarios involving analog and digital Haar discrete wavelet transform implementations are compared to classical quantization. High level modeling of image sensor shows that a simple decorrelation scheme can reduce column level power consumption while keeping high image quality.

On-chip data compression for I.R. image sensors

An IR imager read-out circuit embedding an enhanced decorrelation scheme based on first level Haar wavelet transform and predictive dynamic range estimation is proposed in this paper. This scheme provides lower power consumption, thanks to a reduced ADC resolution and a decreased output data-rate, at the expense of few reconstruction artifacts. A detailed circuit implementation is proposed and its limitations discussed.