Received 29 May 2020; revised 27 August 2020; accepted 16 September 2020.

Date of publication 24 September 2020;

date of current version 16 October 2020. The review of this article was arranged by Editor C. Bulucea.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JEDS.2020.3026470

Analytical Modeling of Exposure Process in

Pinned Photodiode CMOS Image Sensors
JING GAO 1,2 (Member, IEEE), YUCHEN GONG1,2 , ZHIYUAN GAO 1,2 (Member, IEEE),
KAIMING NIE 1,2 (Member, IEEE), AND JIANGTAO XU 1,2 (Member, IEEE)
1 School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
2 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Imaging and Sensing Microelectronic Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Z. GAO (e-mail: gaozhiyuan@tju.edu.cn)

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 61774110 and Grant 61874076.

ABSTRACT The output features of pixels in CMOS image sensors (CISs) are influenced by different
exposure conditions. This article presents an analytical model to describe the output characteristics of the
exposure process in pinned photodiode (PPD) CMOS image sensors with the accumulation of three charge
sources: photogenerated charge, p-n junction-generated charge, and emission charge. In the proposed model,
the difference between the time-based and light intensity-based photo response process is illustrated. The
model also reveals the relationship between photodiode potential and light intensity at different exposure
values. At the low exposure values, the PD potential increases with light intensity, and a contrary trend
is observed at the high exposure values. This concludes that a larger linear output range can be obtained
in high light intensity conditions. Furthermore, the improved model provides development analysis in
terms of light intensity influence for long exposure time noise. The models were verified with technology
computer-aided design simulation and the test devices were fabricated using a 0.18-μm CIS process. The
model demonstrates good consistency with simulation and measured results.

INDEX TERMS Exposure process, CMOS image sensors, pinned photodiode.

I. INTRODUCTION high temperatures or long exposure time applications, the

Pinned photodiode CMOS image sensors (CISs) are
commonly used in consumer electronics and industrial
applications because of their low cost and outstand-
ing performance [1]. The key characteristics of CISs are
dynamic range, low light intensity level detection, dark
noise, etc., and these characteristics are affected by the light
intensity and exposure time under various test conditions.
In general, when a pixel is exposed to light, the charge
accumulates in the photodiode (PD). The process from the
beginning of the accumulation to the end of the accumula-
tion is called the exposure process, and the phase is called
the exposure phase. The exposure condition refers to the set-
ting of the light intensity and time during exposure. In low
light intensity level detection application, the influence of
dark current in both spatial and temporal domain is essential
for the light-resolving ability of image sensors; some CISs
with low sub-electron noise have been reported [2], [3]. For
accumulation of dark electrons still plays an important role
in the exposure process. The measurement results of CISs
parameters calculated from the PTC curve, such as full well
capacity (FWC), vary with the setting of exposure time or
light intensity [4]. Thus, to have a better understanding of the
relationship between pixel output features and exposure con-
ditions, a detailed analysis of the exposure process in CMOS
image sensors is necessary, and it can also guide the design
and measurement works of CISs in different application
scenarios.
The models of FWC and the capacitance of PD have been
proposed in the existing studies. In [5], a model of FWC
considered the capacitance of pinned photodiode (PPD) as
a constant to explain that the saturation output of a pixel
is determined by the light intensity induced forward biased
voltage in different light environments. Another FWC model
is provided in [4], and it considered the extra collected

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FIGURE 1. (a) Schematic of a 4T-PPD pixel, (b) Potential diagram along
A-A’ and (c) Potential diagram along B-B’.
charge during charge transfer. In [6], an improved model
of FWC was established. This model analyzed the influ-
ence of doping concentration and implant energy of the
donor and acceptor of PD. Furthermore, dynamic capacitance
models during the charge accumulated phase were discussed
in [7], [8], and a method to extract the PD capacitance by
the FWC characteristic curve is proposed in [9].
The output models mentioned above are mainly used in
the saturation state, and is not suitable for the charge accu-
mulation process. In order to obtain a better understanding
of the entire exposure phase, an exposure model is presented
in [10] to analyze the long exposure time noise. However, in
this model, the input charge and emission charge caused by
the feedforward effect are independent of each other [11].
Therefore, the model could not distinguish the influence of
photogenerated charge and dark current-induced charge on
the PD output feature. However, these charge sources play
different roles during charge accumulation at different expo-
sure values; the exposure value is usually defined as the
product of the exposure time and the light intensity. This
indicates the need for an improved model to analyze the
output characteristics of CISs in the exposure phase.
This article presents the development of an analytical
model of the exposure process in pinned photodiode CISs.
It illustrates the difference between the time-based and light
intensity-based photo response processes. Moreover, it pro-
vides a reference for the prediction of output characteristics
with different exposure values which is not discussed in
previous models. It reveals that the PD potential increases
with light intensity at the low exposure values due to short-
ened exposure time and decreases with light intensity at the
high exposure values due to the limitation of PD saturation.
In addition, the model can analyze long exposure noise [10]
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and can explain the reason for exposure noise reduction
in terms of light intensity influence and provide a better
match to the measurement results. The models were verified
with TCAD simulation and the test devices fabricated with
a 0.18-µm CIS process.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In
Section II, a mathematical model of the exposure process
is proposed and the analysis of the PD potential at differ-
ent exposure values is presented. Furthermore, the exposure
noise is analyzed in terms of light intensity influence. The
measured results are discussed in Section III. Section IV
concludes the paper.
II. ANALYTICAL MODELING
A. PRINCIPLE AND ANALYSIS OF EXPOSURE PROCESS
A schematic of the PPD active pixel sensor and the potential
diagram along the cutline of A-A’ and B-B’ are shown in
Fig. 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c), respectively. In Fig. 1(b), we refer
to the definition of potential in different regions of PD in
reference [8]. V i is the inner potential, V j is the junction
potential. The total potential in PPD, V PPD , is the sum of
inner potential and junction potential. The junction region
is the depletion region of the PPD p-n junction. The region
where the potential profile is flat at p-n junction equilib-
rium is defined as inner region. At p-n junction equilibrium
state, VPPD = Vi = Vj = 0. The sources contribute to the
number of charge integrated in the PPD in the exposure
phase, which can be divided into three parts in Fig. 1(c):
photogenerated charge, p-n junction generated charge, and
emission charge from PPD to FD through TG. We assume
that the PPD is completely depleted at the beginning of the
exposure phase. The charge integrated in the PPD can be
described as:
QPD = Qphoto + Qpn-rev − Qpn-fw − Qleak , (1)
where QPD is the total accumulated charge, Qphoto is the
photogenerated charge, Qleak is the emission charge from
PD to FD based on the thermionic emission theory, and
Qpn-rev and Qpn-fw indicate the charge accumulated by reverse
current and the charge lost by forward current of p-n junction
in PPD, respectively. The potential difference between the
p-n junction equilibrium state and TG is defined as VTG .
The PPD is reset to V pin before the exposure phase, and the
p-n junction is initially reverse biased. When the exposure
phase begins, as the charge accumulates, the PD poten-
tial decreases. The accumulation rate of Qphoto at a fixed
light intensity condition is approximately constant. With PD
potential decreases, the barrier between PD and TG decreases
and the thermionic emission is enhanced. It results the loss
rate of charge in PD increase due to Qleak . When the PD
potential is lower than the built-in potential, V b , the p-n
junction turns into the forward biased condition [5]. With
charge accumulation, the PD potential decreases and the
forward biased voltage of PD increases. The loss rate of
charge in PD increases due to Qpn-fw . If the exposure time
is long enough, the PD potential will finally reach a stable
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FIGURE 2. Schematic of charge accumulation process with different

saturation conditions. (a) dark condition saturation, (b), (c) saturation with
light at reverse biased condition, and (d) saturation with light at forward
biased condition.
FIGURE 3. Simulation procedure of the model.

state as the three sources balance. The exposure process in

different light intensity conditions is shown in Fig. 2. where tint is the exposure time, I 0 is the reverse current, k is
In Fig. 2(a), PD is exposed to a dark environment. The the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature, V i is
reverse current of the p-n junction in PPD plays an essential the inner potential of PD, V j is the junction potential of PD.
role for charge accumulation, and it is balanced by the emis- To simplify the model, we consider the generation speed of
sion current from PPD to FD if the exposure time is long photoelectrons as a constant at a fixed light intensity, neglect-
enough. This determines the equilibrium full well capac- ing the process of generation and recombination within the
ity (EFWC) [12], which represent the full well capacity at depletion region of the PPD. The photogenerated charge
dark condition. In Fig. 2(b), both photocurrent and reverse during integration is:
current of the p-n junction contribute to the integrated charge ηLSPPD γ tint
in PPD, and then balance with the emission current. With Nph = , (3)
hν
light intensity increases in Fig. 2(c), a higher saturation point
where η is the quantum efficiency of PD, L is the light inten-
can be obtained compared to Fig. 2(b), which contributes to
sity, SPPD is the photosensitive area of PD, hν is the energy
a higher full well capacity (FWC2>FWC1). In the previous
of a photon, and γ is the conversion parameter to transform
three states, the accumulation of photoelectrons is not enough
illumination to light intensity power which is considered to
to make PD forward bias. Therefore, the saturation point is
be 1.46 × 10−3 W/m2 /lux in this work.
achieved at the reverse biased condition of the p-n junction
Equation (4) is rewritten from [14], and we can derive (5)
in PD, and PD potential is lower than built-in potential at
to represent the population of emission charge from PD to
saturation. The saturation point is achieved at the balance
FD during a short time segment ti :
of photocurrent, reverse current, and emission current. With  Nres  t
light intensity continue to increases in Fig. 2(d), photocur- 1 IS
− dNres = exp
rent and reverse current contribute to the integrated charge at Ne Nres qNC V 0
the beginning. As the accumulated photoelectrons increases,  

q Vi + Vj + VTG
the p-n junction of PD becomes forward biased and the × − dt, (4)
reverse current transforms to a forward current to decrease kT
the charge population in PD. In this state, the saturation ntr = Ne − Nres
point is achieved at the balance of photocurrent, forward = Ne − Ne exp
current, and emission current. Compared to Fig. 2(c), full 
IS
well capacity in Fig. 2(d) increase (FWC3>FWC2). In this × − exp
article, the reverse biased condition of PD during exposure qNC V
  

is mainly analyzed. q Vi + Vj + VTG

× − ti ,
kT
B. MODELING OF EXPOSURE PROCESS
In this model, an ideal p-n junction model is used to approxi- (5)
mate the reverse current induced charge amount at the reverse where N e is the initial number of electrons in the PPD,
biased state [13]: N res is the number of electrons after the charge emission
   
1 tint −qVPPD process in PD, N c is the conduction band effective density
Nrev = I0 1 − exp dt, (2)
q 0 kT of states, V is the volume of the PPD, VTG is the potential

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difference between the p-n junction equilibrium potential and

transfer-gate potential, I S can be expressed as:
IS = ASA T 2 (6)
where A is the Richardson constant and SA is the area of the
cross section on the charge transfer path at the connection
of TG and PD.
The population of the emission charge during the integra-
tion phase is:
 tint
Ntr = ntr dt. (7)
0
The total charge number during the whole exposure is:
Ntotal = Nph + Nrev − Ntr . (8)
From previous analysis, the accumulation speed of N junc
and N tr is influenced by the PD potential, which should be
considered during exposure phase. The relationship between
the electron population and PD potential in the inner region
is [8]:
   
q Ntotal 2 Ntotal 2
Vi = ND d − = VM 1 − , (9)
2εND 2SPPD ND V
qd2 ND
VM = , (10)
2ε
where ε is the silicon permittivity, N D is the donor atoms
concentration at the inner region and V M is the maximum
inner region PD potential in a completely depleted condition.
FIGURE 4. Model results of photo response curves by (a) time-based
The relationship between the electron population and PD integrated method and (b) light intensity-based integrated method.
potential in the junction region is [8]:
 1/2  1/2 
Ntotal = X1 Vbi1 + Vpin − VM − Vbi1 + Vj
 2/3  2/3  Then the total charge number in PD is calculated, and the
− X2 Vbi2 + Vpin − VM − Vbi2 + Vj , V PPD is updated for a new round of calculation. With charge
(11) accumulation, V PPD decreases non-linearly. Therefore, ntr
 1/2 would increase. When the generation rate of photoelectrons
2εSPPD qNMAX
X1 = , (12) and reverse current induced electrons equal to the loss rate
q 2ε
3εSPPD  qσj2 1/3
caused by leak electrons (in our model, it is the condition
X2 = , (13) that nph + nrev = ntr ), N total would reach a balance state. The
2q 12ε exposure model in this article is used for the reverse bias
where V bi1 is the built-in potential of surface junction, V bi2 is state in the case of transfer gate strongly limit the equilibrium
the built-in potential of bulk junction, V pin is the maximum full well capacity, and V PPD > 0 at this condition.
potential of PPD in the completely deplete state, and the An instance is demonstrated below based on the above
maximum junction region occurs V pin = VM + Vjmax , N MAX mathematical analysis. Fig. 4(a) and 4(b) show the model
is the peak N-type doping level, σ j2 reflects indeed the N- results that describe the trends of pixel output based on
type doping non-uniformity. time-based and light-based testing methods, respectively. the
The total PD potential is: parameters used in Fig. 4 are set as: N D = 1.5 × 1015 cm−3 ,
SPPD = 4um2 , V pin = 1.0V, d = 0.52um, N C = 2.8 ×
VPPD = Vi + Vj , (14)
1019 cm−3 , η = 0.9, I 0 = 6.4 × 10−18 A, V bi1 = 0.9V,
The simulation procedure of the exposure process is shown V bi2 = 0.5V, N max = 1 × 1016 cm−3 , σj2 = 6.0 × 1019
in Fig. 3 with a light intensity, L, and an exposure time, cm−4 , I S = 0.0432A, VTG = 0.25V. In the time-based
tint . The overall exposure time tint is divided into several integrated method, each curve is modeled with fixed light
exposure time segments ti . The nrev , nph and ntr are calcu- intensity and different exposure times. In the light intensity-
lated, which represent the population of charge caused by p-n based integrated method, each curve is modeled with fixed
junction reverse current, photogenerated charge and emission exposure time and different light intensity. The output of
charge from PD to FD during the time step ti , respectively. PD changed from being almost linear to saturated with an

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FIGURE 5. Simulation results and model results of light intensity
dependence of the PD potential at different exposure values.
FIGURE 6. Simulation results and model results of the number of electrons
in the PD, varying with light intensity at different exposure values.
increasing accumulated charge. In Fig. 4(a), when the light
intensity decreases, the number of electrons after saturation
in PPD which represents FWC turns to a lower level, and
it is eventually limited to EFWC in the dark condition. In
Fig. 4(b), the saturation point increases with light intensity.
The output of pixels will reach saturation at a faster rate in
a longer exposure time condition and they will finally show
a consistent state at the same light intensity.
C. LIGHT INTENSITY DEPENDENCE OF PPD POTENTIAL
AT DIFFERENT EXPOSURE VALUES
As mentioned earlier, the charge accumulation in PD con-
sists of three parts. Among the three parts, the population of
charge caused by reverse current depends on the exposure
time. The population of photogenerated charge is determined
by both light intensity and exposure time. When the number
of PD electrons is large, PD tends to be saturated, and this
saturation is related to the intensity of light as we analyzed
earlier. Therefore, the factors that dominate charge accumu-
lation under different exposure values are different, which
will lead to different trends of PD electric potential and
charge number. Figs. 5 and 6 show the model calculation
and simulation results by the TCAD of PD potential and
the electron population in PD, respectively. The simulated
PD potential is the sum of PD potential in calculated model
and the potential in the n-type region at p-n junction equi-
librium state, and the potential in the n-type region at p-n
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FIGURE 7. Schematic of light intensity or time influence on the PD
potential with light1<light2<light3<light4 in (a) low exposure value with
low light condition, (b) low exposure value with high light condition,
(c) high exposure value with low light condition, (d) high exposure value
with high light condition.
FIGURE 8. Electrons accumulation in PPD with light intensity at fixed
exposure value.
junction equilibrium state is considered as 0.2V by simu-
lation. In the simulation, the full well capacity is mainly
limited by the leak electrons due to transfer gate. When the
light intensity is 0.146W/m2 (100lux), the electron density
of PD measured by TCAD probe tool is less than the doping
concentration, which means the electrons accumulated at the
reverse biased condition in the simulation. The wavelength
of light is 555nm. The exposure value is the product of the
exposure time and the light intensity, which implies that the
exposure time decreases with increase in the light intensity
at fixed exposure value.
In Fig. 6, the relationship between the number of elec-
trons in PD and the light intensity is divided into (a), (b), (c)
and (d) according to different exposure amounts and light
intensities, which correspond to the electron accumulation
states described in Fig. 7 (a), (b), (c) and (d) respectively.
Fig. 8 shows the variation of electron accumulation with
light intensity from different sources at the fixed exposure
value. At the very beginning of these curves, the light inten-
sity is very low (close to zero) and the exposure time is
long, and the curves converge at one point, representing the
EFWC. At low exposure values, 7.30 × 10−5 W × s/m2 ,
1.46 × 10−4 W × s/m2 and 2.92 × 10−4 W × s/m2 , in
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low light intensity condition (according to Fig. 7 (a)),

the variation of reverse current of p-n junction in PPD
plays an essential role for charge accumulation, and this
accumulation is related to time. Therefore, the electron
density decreases as exposure time decreases (light inten-
sity increases). It causes an increase in PD potential with
light intensity increases in Fig. 6. As the light intensity
continues to increase (according to Fig. 7 (b)), the photo-
generated charge injected plays an essential role, and it is
constant in fixed exposure value. The PD is not close to
the saturation state in these states. So, the electrons number
and PD potential tend to be constant as the light intensity
increases. At high exposure values, 4.38 × 10−4 W × s/m2 ,
7.30 × 10−4 W × s/m2 and 1.168 × 10−3 W × s/m2 , in
low light intensity condition (according to Fig. 7 (c)), the
reverse current of p-n junction in PPD plays an essential
role for charge accumulation, PD reaches saturation state
(7.30 × 10−4 W × s/m2 and 1.168 × 10−3 W × s/m2 ) or
near saturation state (4.38 × 10−4 W × s/m2 ), the electron
numbers increases and PD potential decreases with light
intensity in these conditions. As the light intensity contin-
ues to increase (according to Fig. 7 (d)), the photogenerated
charge injected plays an essential role. For the cases with
7.30 × 10−4 W × s/m2 and 1.168 × 10−3 W × s/m2 exposure
values, the electron numbers still increase and PD potential
decreases with light intensity due to saturation. For the case FIGURE 9. (a) Model results of exposure noise in this article
with 4.38 × 10−4 W × s/m2 exposure value, PD is not close and (b) model results of exposure noise in Han’s study [10].
to saturation, so the electron density and PD potential tend
to be constant.
the exposure phase is not constant with the iterative method
in Han’s work, especially in the long exposure time condi-
D. DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS OF LONG EXPOSURE TIME
NOISE tion. Therefore, the characteristic that the saturated output of
The exposure noise caused by process fluctuations of barrier PD increases with light intensity cannot be reflected in the
height is described based on feedforward theory in Han’s curve. This causes a model trend deviation to measurement
work, and it is further refined with the exposure model in especially in the long exposure time condition.
this article. We add the variation of barrier height V TG0 With our previous analysis in Section II-B, exposure noise
in (5): in Fig. 9 can be explained in terms of light intensity influ-
ence. The photo response curves are measured by a light
ntr = Ne − Ne exp intensity-based integrated method for which the output has
   
IS q(VPPD + VTG + VTG0 ) a trend of increase in the saturation region. For a long
× − exp − ti , exposure time condition, the corresponding light intensity
qNC V kT
(15) range in the exposure curve stayed at a low level, and it
resulted in a reduced output range, which is considered as
Fig. 9 shows two model results [10]. The model param- noise-induced in Han’s study. The conclusion that a longer
eters are set as: N D = 3 × 1015 cm−3 , SPPD = 16um2 , exposure time leads to a larger noise can also be explained
V pin = 0.78V, d = 0.25um, N C = 2.8 × 1019 cm−3 , by the influence of light intensity range. In Fig. 5, V
η = 0.9, N max = 1 × 1016 cm−3 , σj2 = 6.0 × 1019 cm−4 , is the potential difference between a fixed exposure value
VTG = 0.3V. In Han’s work, the input charge and emis- and the saturation exposure value. It increases while the
sion charge are independent of each other. The model did light intensity is growing (V2 > V1 ). This indicates
not distinguish between the photogenerated charge and dark a larger output range than can be obtained in high light
current-induced charge of the input charge, which implies intensity condition. The exposure noise mainly generated
that the influence of the reverse current generated charge is in the saturation region and a larger linear output range
not included. This results in a zero output in a low light inten- can be obtained with a short exposure time [10] because
sity and long exposure time condition. The output approaches for the same exposure range, shorter exposure time means
EFWC with the modified model in the low light long expo- a larger light intensity range. It reduces the effect of exposure
sure time condition. In addition, the light intensity during noise.

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FIGURE 10. (a) Structure of the tested pixel (b) Normal operation timing
diagram of the pixel.
FIGURE 11. P-type implant on transfer gate with length of l.
TABLE 1. Electrons number at saturation with different l.
III. MEASUREMENT RESULTS
The test pixels are fabricated in CMOS technology with the
pixel size of 7 × 7 µm2 . The conversion gain of the pixel
is 19.67uV/e-, the read noise of the image sensor is 23.5e-.
The dark current of image sensor at 25◦ C is 15.05pA/cm2.
The pixel can work in both rolling shutter mode and global
shutter mode. The measurement was performed in the rolling
shutter mode. Fig. 10(a) shows the structure of the pixel and
Fig. 10(b) shows the operation timing diagram of the pixel.
The data A white light source with color temperature of
5600K was used in measurement.
Fig. 11 shows the p-type doping at the transfer gate, which
has impact on the leak electrons from PD to FD, thus affect-
ing the full well capacity of PD. l is the length of p-type
implant on transfer gate. Table 1 shows the electrons num-
ber with saturation point at 5lux with different l. It can be
observed that the saturation point has great changes with the
growth of l, which means the full well of the test pixel is
strongly limited by charge emission caused by transfer gate,
and PD works in the reverse biased state. The pixel used in
the test has a p-type implant length of 0.25um.
Fig. 12 shows the measurement results and model results
with time-based and light intensity-based integration meth-
ods. The results were plotted after dark frame subtraction.
The model parameters are set as: N D = 8.5 × 1015 cm−3 ,
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FIGURE 12. Measurement results of photo response curves
by (a) time-based integrated method and (b) light intensity-based
integrated method.
V pin = 1.2V, η = 0.7, N max = 5.7 × 1016 cm−3 ,
σj2 = 6.0 × 1019 cm−4 , VTG = 0.32V, SPPD = 16µm2
and d = 0.25µm. In the time-based integrated method
[Fig. 12(a)], the saturation state is not varied with exposure
time, and it increases with light intensity level while, in
the light intensity-based integrated method [Fig. 11(b)], the
saturation point increases with light intensity. Furthermore,
it can be observed that a larger linear output range can be
obtained in a high light intensity condition.
Fig. 13 shows the output of pixels changing with light
intensity at different exposure values. To eliminate the influ-
ence of a light-sensitive effect during the readout phase of
FD, the exposure frame is separated by a TG-off frame
with the same exposure condition. The effect of the reverse
current becomes more significant with the increase of
temperature [14]. To magnify the effect of the reverse cur-
rent, the sensor’s output at the low exposure value was
tested at 55◦ C. The dark current of image sensor at 55◦ C
is 701.27pA/cm2. The precision of our illuminometer is
affected in this temperature environment, so the number of
test data is very limited. At the low exposure value, the out-
put decreased with the increasing light intensity. At the high
exposure value, the output increased while the light intensity
was growing. This is also in line with expectations in Fig. 6.
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FIGURE 13. Measurement results of light intensity dependence output
at (a) low exposure value and (b) high exposure value.
FIGURE 14. Measurement results of exposure noise with exposure time of
12.5ms and 250ms respectively.
Fig. 14 shows the measurement results of exposure noise
with different exposure times. There are 100 samples for
each exposure time. Similar to the previous analysis, the
exposure noise mainly generated in the saturation region
and the short exposure time with high light intensity level
results in a larger linear output range which reduces the
exposure noise. It shows good consistency with our model
in Fig. 9.
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IV. CONCLUSION
An analytical model of the exposure process for pinned pho-
todiode CMOS image sensors has been proposed in this
article. The charge sources in the PPD during the expo-
sure phase can be divided into the photogenerated charge,
p-n junction generated charge, and emission charge. With the
balance of the three sources, the saturation point will increase
with the light intensity. The proposed model shows the dif-
ference between time-based and light intensity-based photo
response process. In the time-based integrated method, the
saturation state is invariant with exposure time while in the
light intensity-based integrated method, the saturation point
increases with light intensity. It also illustrates the change in
the trend of PPD potential at different exposure values. At
the low exposure values, the PPD potential increases with
light intensity because of the accumulation of dark current-
induced charge. At the high exposure values, the forward
biased current and emission current-induced charge results
in a contrary trend. In addition, a larger linear output range
can be obtained in a high light intensity condition. The
model demonstrates good consistency with simulation and
measured results.
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JING GAO (Member, IEEE) received the M.S. degree from Nankai
University in 2005 and the Ph.D. degree from the School of Electronic
Information and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China, in
2009, where she has been an Associate Professor with the School of
Microelectronics since 2015. Her research interests are in CMOS image
sensor and mixed signal design.
YUCHEN GONG received the B.E. degree from the School of Physics
and Photoelectric Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan,
China, in 2018. She is currently pursuing the master’s degree with the
School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University. Her current research interests
include CMOS image sensor and pixel design.
VOLUME 8, 2020
ZHIYUAN GAO (Member, IEEE) received the B.E. and Ph.D. degrees
from the School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University,
Tianjin, China, in 2010 and 2015, respectively, where he is currently an
Assistant Professor. His current research interests include CMOS image
sensor design especially on pixel design, dynamic range enhancement, and
bionic CISs.
KAIMING NIE (Member, IEEE) received the B.E., M.S., and Ph.D.
degrees from the School of Electronic Information and Engineering, Tianjin
University, Tianjin, China, in 2009, 2011, and 2014, respectively, where he
was a Postdoctoral Researcher from 2014 to 2017. Since 2017, he has
been an Associate Professor with the School of Microelectronics, Tianjin
University. His research interests are in mixed analog/digital circuit design
and CMOS image sensor design.
JIANGTAO XU (Member, IEEE) received the B.E. degree from Tianjin
University in 2001, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the School
of Electronic Information and Engineering, Tianjin University, in 2004
and 2007, respectively, where he was a Lecturer, from 2007 to 2010,
and an Associate Professor from 2010 to 2018. Since 2018, he has been
a Professor with the School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University. His
research interests are in CMOS image sensor chip and systems and digital
image signal processing circuits.
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