The quantitative effects of interface states on the performance of charge coupled devices

Quantitative calculations have shown that the performance of charge-coupled devices (CCD´s) is not limited by the motion of the mobile carriers. The limit on transfer efficiency is given by the effects of interface states. The major detrimental effects may be minimized by keeping a background charge in the device at all times. However, analysis shows that even in the presence of this background charge the limiting performance of CCD´s will still be determined by th interface state density. The analysis indicates certain features in the design and operation of CCD´s that are required to obtain maximum transfer efficiency for a given interface state density and bit size.