Scalable new SOI diode structure has been proposed and developed for beyond 17μm pixel pitch mega-pixel-class SOI diode uncooled infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs). Conventionally, each p⁺n vertical diode is formed between a p⁺diffusion and an n-body in each SOI active area, and 8-10 diodes are serially connected with interconnections. In the proposed new structure, we employ two kinds of diodes, namely, p⁺n and n⁺p vertical diodes. First, two regions of an nbody and a p-body are prepared in an SOI active area. In the n-body, a p⁺ diffusion is formed apart from the n-body /pbody boundary. In the p-body, an n+ diffusion is formed apart from the boundary. In this way, a p⁺n vertical diode and an n+p vertical diode are formed together in an SOI active area. Moreover, a contact hole, which is formed in touch with both n- and p-bodies, electrically connects these two kinds of diodes. With this new structure which is named "new 2-in- 1 SOI diode structure", we have realized remarkable reduction of the diode area. It leads to significant increase of the diode series number in a pixel, which increases infrared responsivity of the pixel. As a result, designing a 15μm pixel pitch IRFPA with the new structure, 12 series diodes can be arranged in a pixel, although 10 series diodes have been used even in the case of our 25μm pitch generation pixel. To confirm the ability of the new diodes, test elements of 12-17μm pitch pixels were fabricated and evaluated. Furthermore, the fabrication of 17μm pixel pitch 320 x 240 IRFPAs with the new diodes was carried out and their favorable FPA operations were successfully verified. In conclusion, the proposed and developed new SOI diode technology is very promising for beyond 17μm pixel pitch mega-pixel-class uncooled IRFPAs.

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