A 252-${\rm V/lux}{\cdot}{\rm s}$, 16.7-Million-Frames-Per-Second 312-kpixel Back-Side-Illuminated Ultrahigh-Speed Charge-Coupled Device

We developed a 312-kpixel back-side-illuminated ultrahigh-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) that has a sensitivity of 252 V/lux · s and is capable of operating at 16.7 Mfps. The potential profile of the pixel was designed by using a 3-D semiconductor device simulator. The high sensitivity results from the unit having fill factor and time aperture ratios of 100% and a high optical utilization ratio. Its sensitivity is 12.7 times that of a front-side-illuminated image sensor. Ultrahigh-speed shooting was enabled by an in situ storage image sensor. By reducing the wiring resistance and dividing the image area into eight blocks, a maximum frame rate of 16.7 Mfps was attained. The total pixel count is 760 horizontally and 411 vertically. The burst capturing speed is thus 5.2 Tpixel/s, making it the fastest imaging device to date.

I. Introduction

High-Speed cameras can capture images of objects that are moving too fast to be seen by the human eye. Such cameras have many applications in broadcast programming because the captured images can be played back as slow-motion video.