A single-photon CMOS image sensor (CIS) design based on pinned photodiode (PPD) with multiple charge transfers and sampling is described. In the proposed pixel architecture, the photogenerated signal is sampled non-destructively multiple times and the results are averaged. Each signal measurement is statistically independent and by averaging, the electronic readout noise is reduced to a level where single photons can be distinguished reliably. A pixel design using this method was simulated in TCAD and several layouts were generated for a 180-nm CMOS image sensor process. Using simulations, the noise performance of the pixel was determined as a function of the number of samples, sense node capacitance, sampling rate and transistor characteristics. The strengths and limitations of the proposed design are discussed in detail, including the trade-off between noise performance and readout rate and the impact of charge transfer inefficiency (CTI). The projected performance of our first prototype device indicates that single-photon imaging is within reach and could enable ground-breaking performances in many scientific and industrial imaging applications.

中文翻译：

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使用多个无损信号采样的单光子CMOS成像像素的仿真和设计。

描述了基于具有多个电荷转移和采样的固定光电二极管（PPD）的单光子CMOS图像传感器（CIS）设计。在提出的像素体系结构中，对光生信号进行了多次无损采样，并对结果进行平均。每次信号测量在统计上都是独立的，并且通过平均，电子读数噪声会降低到可以可靠区分单个光子的水平​​。在TCAD中模拟了使用这种方法的像素设计，并针对180 nm CMOS图像传感器工艺生成了几种布局。使用仿真，可以确定像素的噪声性能是采样数，感测节点电容，采样率和晶体管特性的函数。拟议设计的优点和局限性进行了详细讨论，包括噪声性能和读出率之间的权衡以及电荷转移效率低下（CTI）的影响。我们第一个原型设备的预期性能表明单光子成像已可触及，并且可以在许多科学和工业成像应用中实现突破性的性能。