A Silicon-on-Insulator-Based Dual-Gain Charge-Sensitive Pixel Detector for Low-Noise X-ray Imaging for Future Astronomical Satellite Missions

Abstract

In this paper, we report on the development of a monolithic active pixel sensor for X-ray imaging using 0.2 µm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based technology to support next generation astronomical satellite missions. Detail regarding low-noise dual-gain SOI based pixels with a charge sensitive amplifier and pinned depleted diode sensor structure is presented. The proposed multi-well sensor structure underneath the fully-depleted SOI allows the design of a detector with low node capacitance and high charge collection efficiency. Configurations for achieving very high charge-to-voltage conversion gain of 52 µV/e⁻ and 187 µV/e⁻ are demonstrated. Furthermore, in-pixel dual gain selection is used for low-noise and wide dynamic range X-ray energy detection. A technique to improve the noise performance by removing correlated system noise leads to an improvement in the spectroscopic performance of the measured X-ray energy. Taken together, the implemented chip has low dark current (44.8 pA/cm² at −30 °C), improved noise performance (8.5 e⁻ rms for high gain and 11.7 e⁻ rms for low gain), and better energy resolution of 2.89% (171 eV FWHM) at 5.9 keV using ⁵⁵Fe and 1.67% (234 eV FWHM) at 13.95 keV using ²⁴¹Am.