High Reliability, Radiation Hard, Electron Bombarded SOI CMOS Image Tubes

Electron-bombarded sensors have been researched for over thirty years and the general theory of operation has been proven and prototype devices demonstrated. However thus far, they have yet to be manufactured in a cost effective manner with optimizedperformance characteristics. Furthermore, the state of the art EBCCD device has no proven reliability.In this Phase I program, we propose to develop a high-reliability, high-performance, 128 x 128 element, 10kHz EBCCD design that leverages high volume, commercial semiconductor processes and radiation hardened SOI CMOS processes from which to significantlyquantify and manage reliability growth. The design implements a <1-micron electron absorption region formed from fully-depleted, n-type epitaxial silicon. We thus achieve increased resolution, high bandwidth, reduced radiation cross-section, higher gain,and enhanced stability. Significantly, our design dispenses with custom back-thinning operations, which are unreliable and incompatible with CMOS processing. Instead we use the unique properties of SOI to obtain the <1-micron thick back-thinned siliconlayer.The high-speed, mixed-signal SOI circuits include anti-blooming, gain modulation, random readout, windowing, and non-destructive readout. The design significantly increases radiation performance, provides better outgassing characteristics, and greatlyenhances image tube performance and reliability. EBCCD devices satisfies applications requiring high data rates, high resolution, and low light sensitivity that cannot be satisfied with traditional image intensifiers, silicon CCD, or CMOS imagers. Applications include: ladar/lidar, microscopy,neuroscience, calcium ratio imaging, fluorescence studies, high-energy physics scintillator readout (calorimetry, fibre tracking), Cherenkov light detection. Additionally, the proposed imager without intensification can be used as a radiation hard visibleimager for EUV through NIR applications that include solar studies, star tracking, and surveillance.