Kavli Affiliate: Daniel R. Wilkins
| First 5 Authors: Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, Sven Herrmann, Peter Orel, Kevan Donlon, Steven W. Allen
| Summary:
Single electron Sensitive Read Out (SiSeRO) is a novel on-chip charge
detection technology that can, in principle, provide significantly greater
responsivity and improved noise performance than traditional charge coupled
device (CCD) readout circuitry. The SiSeRO, developed by MIT Lincoln
Laboratory, uses a p-MOSFET transistor with a depleted back-gate region under
the transistor channel; as charge is transferred into the back gate region, the
transistor current is modulated. With our first generation SiSeRO devices, we
previously achieved a responsivity of around 800 pA per electron, an equivalent
noise charge (ENC) of 4.5 electrons root mean square (RMS), and a full width at
half maximum (FWHM) spectral resolution of 130 eV at 5.9 keV, at a readout
speed of 625 Kpixel/s and for a detector temperature of 250 K. Importantly,
since the charge signal remains unaffected by the SiSeRO readout process, we
have also been able to implement Repetitive Non-Destructive Readout (RNDR),
achieving an improved ENC performance. In this paper, we demonstrate
sub-electron noise sensitivity with these devices, utilizing an enhanced test
setup optimized for RNDR measurements, with excellent temperature control,
improved readout circuitry, and advanced digital filtering techniques. We are
currently fabricating new SiSeRO detectors with more sensitive and
RNDR-optimized amplifier designs, which will help mature the SiSeRO technology
in the future and eventually lead to the pathway to develop active pixel sensor
(APS) arrays using sensitive SiSeRO amplifiers on each pixel. Active pixel
devices with sub-electron sensitivity and fast readout present an exciting
option for next generation, large area astronomical X-ray telescopes requiring
fast, low-noise megapixel imagers.
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