Pinch-off voltage modeling for CMOS image pixels with a pinned photodiode structure

A novel analytical model of pinch-off voltage for CMOS image pixels with a pinned photodiode structure is proposed. The derived model takes account of the gradient doping distributions in the N buried layer due to the impurity compensation formed by manufacturing processes; the impurity distribution characteristics of two boundary PN junctions located in the region for particular spectrum response of a pinned photodiode are quantitative analyzed. By solving Poisson’s equation in vertical barrier regions, the relationships between the pinch-off voltage and the corresponding process parameters such as peak doping concentration, N type width and doping concentration gradient of the N buried layer are established. Test results have shown that the derived model features the variations of the pinch-off voltage versus the process implant conditions more accurately than the traditional model. The research conclusions in this paper provide theoretical evidence for evaluating the pinch-off voltage design.