Dark current modeling with a moving depletion edge

Within a pixel in a digital imager, generally either a chargecoupled device or complementary metal oxide semiconductor device, doping of the semiconductor substrate and application of gate voltages create a region free of mobile carriers called the depletion region. This region fills with charge after incoming photons or thermal energy raise the charges from the valence to the conduction energy band. As the signal charge fills the depletion region, the electric field generating the region is altered, and the size of the region is reduced. We present a model that describes how this dynamic depletion region, along with the location of impurities, will result in pixels that produce less dark current after being exposed to light and additionally show nonlinear production rates with respect to exposure time. These types of effects have been observed in digital imagers, allowing us to compare empirical data with the modeled data. © 2012 SPIE and IS&T. [DOI: 10.1117/1.JEI.21.4.043011]