An application specific PSD implemented using standard CMOS technology

A 2-axis optical position sensitive detector (PSD) suitable for a single chip application-specific implementation of CMOS position sensing systems is reported. The PSD is comprised of an area array of discrete p-n photodiodes and two arrays of MOS transistors. The test results show that besides providing the possibility to optimize position-sensing resolution for a particular application, the linearity of a CMOS PSD is also markedly better than that of a conventional PSD manufactured using dedicated technologies.