Simplified plasma-coupled bipolar linear imager utilizing an extended probe structure

A simplified bipolar linear image sensor is described. The imager is comprised of a 1024-bit photosensing diode array incorporating bipolar switches and two 512-staged static shift scanners of a plasma-coupled device (PCD). Based on the analytical results of a simplified PCD circuit model, a two-phase scanner has been designed and a large operation margin attained experimentally. As a result of the present structural improvements, a low-noise scanner has been successfully achieved with a low operation voltage and small stray capacitance. Results show that this imager operates with a single power supply below 5 V, has a 41-dB S/N ratio without signal processing, a ± 10- percent signal fluctuation, and high production yield.