CMOS imager: Supernova fail Electrical and Physical characterization
Massimo DI FELICE
(LFoundry)
Abstract
An electrical characterization of particular failing signature in a CMOS imager and related physical analysis are presented.
It describes as a single saturated pixel in dark condition and high gain might produce blooming effect toward surrounding pixels, making the image after interpolation/correction not visually acceptable.
Some electrical adjustments to reduce the impact were applied on chip, evaluating eventual drawbacks on key parameters.
Various techniques of physical analysis for defect pinpointing have been used (FIB, SEM). A high resolution TEM characterization has been performed in the photodiode area highlighting silicon dislocations.
