A monolithic mosaic of photon sensors for solid state imaging applications

Monolithic silicon mosaics of photosensor elements have been developed for solid state imaging applications. The physical structure, design features, and performance characteristics of these electro-optical devices will be presented. The sensing monolith consists of a square 50 × 50 mosaic of phototransistor elements which are interconnected both by internally diffused strips and by vacuum deposited surface bars. Fifty X and fifty Y external leads provide access to any individual element XnYmof the mosaic. Fabrication of this 2500 element mosaic involves the techniques of planar passivation, epitaxy, diffusion, and thin films. The individual sensor elements in the structures are based on 0.010 inch centers to provide an imaging resolution of 100 lines per inch.