A high-dynamic range (HDR) back-side illuminated (BSI) CMOS image sensor for extreme UV detection

This paper describes a back-side illuminated 1 Megapixel CMOS image sensor made in 0.18um CMOS process for EUV detection. The sensor applied a so-call "dual-transfer" scheme to achieve low noise, high dynamic range. The EUV sensitivity is achieved with backside illumination use SOI-based solution. The epitaxial silicon layer is thinned down to less than 3um. The sensor is tested and characterized at 5nm to 30nm illumination. At 17.4nm targeted wavelength, the detector external QE (exclude quantum yield factor) reaches almost 60%. The detector reaches read noise of 1.2 ph- (@17.4nm), i.e. close to performance of EUV photon counting.