Design and Simulation of a Highly Sensitive Charge Detector with Nondestructive Readout Mode for Fully Depleted Thick CCDs

Several applications with charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and Skipper-CCDs can be significantly improved with an enhancement in pixel readout speed. In this work, we present the design and TCAD modeling of a highly sensitive double-gate MOSFET for charge amplification in CCD detectors. The design steps followed to integrate the device into high-voltage fully-depleted thick CCDs are described. Like Skipper-CCDs, the device allows for nondestructive readout of the charge packet for noise reduction. The simulations predict a sensitivity of $2.5\,\,\text {nA}/\text {e}^{-}$ and a readout noise of $2.4\,\,\text {e}^{-}_{\text {rms}}/\text {pix}$ at a readout speed of $300 \text {kpixels/s}$ . In a multisampling operation, a readout noise of $0.1\,\,\text {e}^{-}_{\text {rms}}/\text {pix}$ can also be achieved at a readout speed in the order of $700 \text {pixels/s}$ , approximately seven times faster than the Skipper-CCD at that same readout noise level.