Defect and fault modelling of a CMOS n-diffusion photodiode
Résumé
Today, the CMOS image sensors are being used in an increasing number of applications. A significant problem for these devices is due to the fact that the production testing is complicated and expensive. This problem arises from the need to use light sources in order to test the photosensitive elements. As an alternative solution, we proposed the use of a test performed in the absence of light. In order to evaluate the quality of the proposed test approach, we performed an analysis of the defects and failure mechanisms in the photodiode. This is the main contribution of the paper, as until now very little literature was written concerning this subject, due to the fact that these defects are not well enough understood to enable the development of a general model.