A CMOS 128-APS linear array integrated with a LVOF for highsensitivity and high-resolution micro-spectrophotometry

摘要

A linear array of 128 Active Pixel Sensors has been developed in standard CMOS technology and a Linear Variable Optical Filter (LVOF) is added using CMOS-compatible post-process, resulting in a single chip highly-integrated highresolution microspectrometer. The optical requirements imposed by the LVOF result in photodetectors with small pitch and large length in the direction normal to the dispersed spectrum (7.2μm×300μm). The specific characteristics of the readout are the small pitch, low optical signals (typically a photocurrent of 100fA～1pA) and a much longer integration time as compared to regular video (typically 100μs～63s). These characteristics enable a very different trade-off between SNR and integration time and IC-compatibility. The system discussed in this paper operates in the visible part of the spectrum. The prototype is fabricated in the AMIS 0.35μm AID CMOS technology.