Efficiency enhancement and 0.25V ultra low bias voltage of integrated optical sensor in standard CMOS technology

Based on novel design of integrated optical sensor fully compatible to standard 0.35 μm CMOS technology provided from tsmc, the proposed device with ultra low bias voltage of 0.25V has been realized and demonstrated. The integrated optical sensor was created by connecting conventional photodiode with `Gate´ electrode of NMOS directly. According to the measured results in identical conditions, the integrated optical sensor achieves 100 times the amount of photocurrent of a simple photodiode successfully to enhance the photoresponsivity of integrated optical sensor further. The design concepts of integrated optical sensor benefits `Sensor-Selection´ function in a sensor array to suppress the extra voltage stress phenomenon of un-selected switch for reducing the undesired interference, except the improved photocurrent and photodetectivity. The created device merges excellent optical performance, while keeping the lower bias voltage and read-out voltage for saving power consumption. The proposed strategy offers high potential for several kinds of visible applications, such as ambiance detection.