MOS-capacitor based CMOS time-compression photogate pixel for time-of-flight imaging

In this investigation we study different readout possibilities if using a metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor (MOS-C) as a photodetector in a standard 0.5µm twin-well CMOS process. The pixel readout principles are intended to be used in high-speed near-infra red (NIR) 3-D CMOS imaging, based on Time-of-Flight (TOF) measurements. We discuss various issues and present an extensive study of the MOS-C based photodetector structure. Also, we propose a novel CMOS imaging pixel: the time-compression charge-injection photogate (CMOS TC-PG), fabricated in the same process.