A CMOS THz staring imager with in-pixel electronics

A 16 × 16 staring imaging array was implemented in a 0.15-μm standard CMOS technology for terahertz detection in the range of 0.8 THz to 1.5 THz. Each pixel is composed of an antenna, a FET detector, and its readout electronics (a current integrator) so that the pixel signals of the whole matrix can be acquired simultaneously. The current integrator employs a 129-dB operational amplifier implementing two offset compensation techniques (chopping and current injection). In order to have a long integration time, the current integration is inserted in a sigma-delta loop. The implemented pixel has a pitch of 120 μm, and the chip total power consumption is below 30 mW.