CMOS SENSOR SYSTEMS

Sensor systems based on CMOS technology benefit not only from the capa bility of silicon to realize both sensing and electronic functions, bu t also from the manufacturing maturity that CMOS technology has reache d so far. In this contribution we discuss some of the important issues of CMOS sensor system design, such as available technologies and devi ces, design and implementation of sensor electronics, system design an d verification, and also pay attention to testing, reliability and dep endability. We present several examples of successfully integrated CMO S sensor systems, namely a 400 x 300 pixel image sensor, a magnetic-fi eld sensor and a piezoresistive pressure sensor. All these sensors con tain on-chip electronics and clearly demonstrate the advantages of mon olithic integration. Finally, we discuss possible future developments in the area of CMOS sensor systems. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.