Speakers
Description
Skipper-CMOS technology merges the non-destructive readout capabilities of Skipper-CCDs with the scalability of monolithic CMOS integration. Each pixel includes a floating gate, a charge-coupled transfer structure, and a pinned photodiode, enabling sub-electron noise through multiple non-destructive samples. Earlier work demonstrated sub-electron noise at the single-pixel and matrix level but faced challenges in glow, dark current, and readout speed.
In this work, we report new results from an extensive test campaign using an updated readout chain and carefully tuned biasing. We achieve sub-electron resolution at pixel sampling times close to 10 µs. These measurements were performed using up to 1000 skips per pixel at cryogenic temperatures (~125 K), with floating-gate gain values consistently measured in the 31–36 µV/e⁻ range.
Significant improvements were observed in minimizing parasitic glow and dark current. PPD transfer tests show that design-level changes to gate geometries improve charge transfer efficiency.
Charge histograms of select flavors demonstrate clear discretization of electron number, validating the preservation of sub-electron noise under faster, low-glow operating modes. These results support the viability of Skipper-CMOS for scientific imaging applications requiring ultra-low noise, moderate-to-fast frame rates, and scalable integration.