Knowledge Bank

Four transistor direct-injection (4T-DI) pixels mated to a hybridized III-V or II-VI photodiode is performance limited by photodiode dark current especially at high operating temperatures (HOT). Commercial mid-wave infrared (MWIR) imagers mitigate this problem by utilizing costly, bulky, and power thirsty closed-cycle cryogenic coolers. Recently, a new pixel design leveraging the open-circuit voltage generated at the photodiode has shown, at HOT, increased dynamic range and sensitivity compared to the 4T-DI pixel. A noise canceling addition to the open-circuit voltage pixel (VocP) that maintains the same operating principles, transfer functions, and associated performance metrics while annulling some of the common-source amplifier's thermal noise is proposed. However, the simulated sensitivity and dynamic range of the VocP does not improve with the new noise canceling VocP (NCVocP).