Low Light Level CCD and Fused Heterojunction Avalanche CCD Imager for 0.4 to 2.0 Micron VIS and NIR Imaging

PixelVision, Inc. as prime-contractor, with contributions from sub-contractor Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center (SBRC), proposes in this Phase I SBIR effort to design, model, and prototype a high speed, low noise, back-illuminated CCD sensor for use in the 0.4 to 2.0 micron spectral region. This new sensor hereinafter referred to as the High-Speed Solid State Low Light (HSSLL) CCD imager will be manufactured, tested, and optimized in a Phase II SBIR effort that will result in a new class of solid state low light level imagers that can be optimized to operate either: the visible (0.4 to 1.1 mm) spectral region; or the visible and NIR (0.4 to 2.0 mm wavelength) spectral regions. Back-illuminated CCDs (BCCDs) exhibit quantum efficiencies as high as 90%. With its low noise and low dark current, the BCCD is a very effective low light level imager up to 1100 nm. In order to achieve wavelength sensitivity above 1.1 um, we are proposing fusing InGaAs to back-illuminated silicon CCDs. Recent developments in the Heterojunction Fusing group at SBRC, led by Dr. John Bowers, have demonstrated that high quality junctions can be made between silicon and InGaAs. The result is a solid state sensor that can be scaled for high resolution and small pixel size with the performance and manufacturability of the CCD. The development of the proposed sensor will expand markets requiring affordable high performance Visible/NIR sensors including: surveillance, DNA sequencing, biological fluorescence and Raman microscopy, commercial camcorder and HDTV cameras, scanners, astronomical imaging and spectroscopy cameras, space based imaging, and industrial inspection and robotics.