Influence of the transducer configuration on the p-i-n image sensor resolution

Amorphous ZnO:Al/ a-SixC1-x:H-p-i-n/Al optical imagers that use a small-sig nal scanning beam to read out the photogenerated carriers are presented. Th e effect of the image intensity on the sensor output characteristics (disto rtion, sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio) are analysed for different se nsor configurations (0.5 < x < 1). Results show that the sensitivity and th e geometrical distortion are limited by the conductivity of the doped layer s. A 75% image distortion reduction with a responsivity of 2 W/m (2) is obt ained by decreasing the n-layer conductivity by one order of magnitude. An analysis of the image acquisition and representation is performed. A physic al model supported by an electrical simulation gave insight into the method ology used for image representation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rig hts reserved.