An image sensor which captures 100 consecutive frames at 1 000 000 frames/s

TLDR

The authors developed an 81,120‑pixel, 1,000,000‑fps image sensor capable of capturing 103 consecutive frames with 10‑bit gray levels and a 13% fill factor, incorporating slanted linear CCD in‑situ storage, a curving design, and a CCD switch with reduced metal shunting for ultrahigh performance and event‑synchronized overwriting. The sensor demonstrates markedly high sensitivity due to its large photogate, and the introduced technologies are transferable to other high‑performance image sensors.

Abstract

An image sensor for a video camera of 1000000 frames per second (fps) was developed. The specifications of the developed sensor are as follows: 1) frame rate: 1000000 fps; 2) pixel count: 81 120 (=312/spl times/260) pixels; 3) total number of successive frames: 103 frames; 4) gray levels: 10 b; and 5) open area of each pixel (fill factor): 580 square micrometers (13%). The overwriting function is installed for synchronization of image capturing with occurrence of the target event. Sensitivity is significantly high with the large photogate. Some innovative technologies were introduced to achieve ultrahigh performance, including slanted linear CCD in situ storage, curving design procedure, and a CCD switch with fewer metal shunting wires. They are applicable to the development of other new high-performance image sensors.