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• 1. [Article] Improved Gain Stability of a Digital Imager Using a Charge Feedback Amplifier

  Digital imagers including Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) are essential to most forms of modern photographic technologies. The quality of the data produced by digital imagers have made them an invaluable ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Improved Gain Stability of a Digital Imager Using a Charge Feedback Amplifier Author: Mylott, Elliot Eckman Year: 2015 Digital imagers including Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) are essential to most forms of modern photographic technologies. The quality of the data produced by digital imagers have made them an invaluable scientific measurement tool. Despite the numerous advantages of digital imagers, there are still factors that limit their performance. One such factor is the stability of the camera's gain, the ratio that dictates the imager's ability to convert incident photons to a measurable output voltage. Variations in gain can affect the linearity of the device and produce inaccurate measurements. One of the factors that determines the gain of the camera is the sensitivity of the output amplifier. The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of two different output amplifier structures: the traditional source follower (SF) and the charge feedback amplifier (CFA). In studies of other solid state detectors, the CFA has shown a greater stability against variations in certain system parameters and environmental conditions such as operating temperature. It is thought that the CFA shows a superior stability over the SF, because the gain of the SF is dependent on multiple capacitances associated with the reset and output transistors, whereas the CFA gain is only dependent on its feedback capacitance. Furthermore, the CFA is able to handle a larger amount of charge than the SF, which increases the dynamic range of the output amplifier. In this research, output amplifier stability is measured using gain and linearity data collected from a CCD manufactured with both types of amplifiers. Preliminary data is presented that indicates the CFA exhibits a greater linearity, larger dynamic range, and a more stable gain than the SF. Despite this the CFA suffers from a significantly larger level of noise. Suggestions for future research are also given as to how to verify and expand upon the results presented here. Title: Improved Gain Stability of a Digital Imager Using a Charge Feedback Amplifier Author: Mylott, Elliot Eckman Year: 2015 Digital imagers including Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) are essential to most forms of modern photographic technologies. The quality of the data produced by digital imagers have made them an invaluable scientific measurement tool. Despite the numerous advantages of digital imagers, there are still factors that limit their performance. One such factor is the stability of the camera's gain, the ratio that dictates the imager's ability to convert incident photons to a measurable output voltage. Variations in gain can affect the linearity of the device and produce inaccurate measurements. One of the factors that determines the gain of the camera is the sensitivity of the output amplifier. The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of two different output amplifier structures: the traditional source follower (SF) and the charge feedback amplifier (CFA). In studies of other solid state detectors, the CFA has shown a greater stability against variations in certain system parameters and environmental conditions such as operating temperature. It is thought that the CFA shows a superior stability over the SF, because the gain of the SF is dependent on multiple capacitances associated with the reset and output transistors, whereas the CFA gain is only dependent on its feedback capacitance. Furthermore, the CFA is able to handle a larger amount of charge than the SF, which increases the dynamic range of the output amplifier. In this research, output amplifier stability is measured using gain and linearity data collected from a CCD manufactured with both types of amplifiers. Preliminary data is presented that indicates the CFA exhibits a greater linearity, larger dynamic range, and a more stable gain than the SF. Despite this the CFA suffers from a significantly larger level of noise. Suggestions for future research are also given as to how to verify and expand upon the results presented here. Close

• 2. [Article] Characterization and Modeling of Nonlinear Dark Current in Digital Imagers

  Dark current is an unwanted source of noise in images produced by digital imagers, the de facto standard of imaging. The two most common types of digital imager architectures, Charged-Coupled Devices (CCDs) ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Characterization and Modeling of Nonlinear Dark Current in Digital Imagers Author: Dunlap, Justin Charles Year: 2014 Dark current is an unwanted source of noise in images produced by digital imagers, the de facto standard of imaging. The two most common types of digital imager architectures, Charged-Coupled Devices (CCDs) and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS), are both prone to this noise source. To accurately reflect the information from light signals this noise must be removed. This practice is especially vital for scientific purposes such as in astronomical observations. Presented in this dissertation are characterizations of dark current sources that present complications to the traditional methods of correction. In particular, it is observed that pixels in both CCDs and CMOS image sensors produce dark current that is affected by the presence of pre-illuminating the sensor and that these same pixels produce a nonlinear dark current with respect to exposure time. These two characteristics are not conventionally accounted for as it is assumed that the dark current produced will be unaffected by charge accumulated from either illumination or the dark current itself. Additionally, a model reproducing these dark current characteristics is presented. The model incorporates a moving edge of the depletion region, where charge is accumulated, as well as fixed recombination-generation locations. Recombination-generation sites in the form of heavy metal impurities, or lattice defects, are commonly the source of dark current especially in the highest producing pixels, commonly called "hot pixels." The model predicts that pixels with recombination-generation sites near the edge of an empty depletion region will produce less dark current after accumulation of charge, accurately modeling the behavior observed from empirical sources. Finally, it is shown that activation energy calculations will produce inconsistent results for pixels with the presence of recombination-generation sites near the edge of a moving depletion region. Activation energies, an energy associated with the temperature dependence of dark current, are often calculated to characterize aspects of the dark current including types of impurities and sources of dark current. The model is shown to generate data, including changing activation energy values, that correspond with changing activation energy calculations in those pixels observed to be affected by pre-illumination and that produce inconsistent dark current over long exposure times. Rather than only being a complication to dark current correction, the presence of such pixels, and the model explaining their behavior, presents an opportunity to obtain information, such as the depth of these recombination-generation sites, which will aid in refining manufacturing processes for digital imagers. Title: Characterization and Modeling of Nonlinear Dark Current in Digital Imagers Author: Dunlap, Justin Charles Year: 2014 Dark current is an unwanted source of noise in images produced by digital imagers, the de facto standard of imaging. The two most common types of digital imager architectures, Charged-Coupled Devices (CCDs) and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS), are both prone to this noise source. To accurately reflect the information from light signals this noise must be removed. This practice is especially vital for scientific purposes such as in astronomical observations. Presented in this dissertation are characterizations of dark current sources that present complications to the traditional methods of correction. In particular, it is observed that pixels in both CCDs and CMOS image sensors produce dark current that is affected by the presence of pre-illuminating the sensor and that these same pixels produce a nonlinear dark current with respect to exposure time. These two characteristics are not conventionally accounted for as it is assumed that the dark current produced will be unaffected by charge accumulated from either illumination or the dark current itself. Additionally, a model reproducing these dark current characteristics is presented. The model incorporates a moving edge of the depletion region, where charge is accumulated, as well as fixed recombination-generation locations. Recombination-generation sites in the form of heavy metal impurities, or lattice defects, are commonly the source of dark current especially in the highest producing pixels, commonly called "hot pixels." The model predicts that pixels with recombination-generation sites near the edge of an empty depletion region will produce less dark current after accumulation of charge, accurately modeling the behavior observed from empirical sources. Finally, it is shown that activation energy calculations will produce inconsistent results for pixels with the presence of recombination-generation sites near the edge of a moving depletion region. Activation energies, an energy associated with the temperature dependence of dark current, are often calculated to characterize aspects of the dark current including types of impurities and sources of dark current. The model is shown to generate data, including changing activation energy values, that correspond with changing activation energy calculations in those pixels observed to be affected by pre-illumination and that produce inconsistent dark current over long exposure times. Rather than only being a complication to dark current correction, the presence of such pixels, and the model explaining their behavior, presents an opportunity to obtain information, such as the depth of these recombination-generation sites, which will aid in refining manufacturing processes for digital imagers. Close