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A CMOS Image Sensor Integrated with Plasmonic Colour Filters

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Abstract

Multi-pixel, 4.5 × 9 μm, plasmonic colour filters, consisting of periodic subwavelength holes in an aluminium film, were directly integrated on the top surface of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor (CIS) using electron beam lithography and dry etch. The 100 × 100-pixel plasmonic CIS showed full colour sensitivities across the visible range determined by a photocurrent measurement. The filters were fabricated in a simple process utilising a single lithography step. This is to be compared with the traditional multi-step processing when using dye-doped polymers. The intrinsic compatibility of these plasmonic components with a standard CMOS process allows them to be manufactured in a metal layer close to the photodiodes. The incorporation of such plasmonic components may in the future enable the development of advanced CIS with low cost, low cross-talk and increased functionality.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank James Grant for chip packaging. This work was supported by a UK EPSRC research grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Rankine Building, Glasgow, G12 8LT, UK

    Q. Chen, K. Walls, T. D. Drysdale & D. R. S. Cumming

  2. Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PJ, UK

    D. Das, D. Chitnis & S. Collins

Authors
  1. Q. Chen
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  2. D. Das
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  3. D. Chitnis
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  4. K. Walls
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  5. T. D. Drysdale
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  6. S. Collins
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  7. D. R. S. Cumming
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. R. S. Cumming.

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Chen, Q., Das, D., Chitnis, D. et al. A CMOS Image Sensor Integrated with Plasmonic Colour Filters. Plasmonics 7, 695–699 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-012-9360-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-012-9360-6

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