Interline CCD for Low light Imagery

There is a distinct need to replace the current Gen III image intensifier imaging system with an all solid-state low light level camera. Between the two potential silicon solid-state image sensor technologies, the CCD is the preferred choice since it generally has higher QE, lower dark current and better uniformity than the state-of-the-art CMOS imager. To meet the performance requirements under overcast starlight level conditions with no or minimum cooling, the dark current of a conventional CCD needs to be further reduced. In addition, given the high dynamic that the camera must support, a conventional CCD (even with anti-blooming structure) may have a potential smear problem where a bright spot in the image causes smearing in the associated column during the vertical register transfer time. The smear will result in extra electron injection into other pixels within that column, causing extra shot noise that degrades the image quality. In this work we will design a high performance, interline frame transfer CCD that will achieve 10pA/cm? dark current, or less than 2 electrons per pixel per frame. The CCD architecture will have minimum smearing even when the bright region in the image is 100 times stronger than the sensor saturation level.