Impact of γ Irradiation Damage to CMOS Image Sensor on Camera Signal-To-Noise Ratio

Abstract

The industrial operation of nuclear power plant under the strong radiation environment requires the detection of environmental visual information by the camera mounted on the nuclear robot. CMOS Image Sensor, as the core component of camera, will be affected by γ-ray radiation when working in nuclear radiation environment, which will degrade photoelectric sensitive parameters and bring in visual noise, embodied in a decrease of signal-to-noise ratio of the camera. This study carried out the experiments of CMOS Image Sensor and camera system under γ-ray irradiation, analyzed the degradation mechanism of dark current and quantum efficiency of CMOS image sensor under γ-ray radiation, and analysis their impact mechanism on signal-to-noise ratio of the camera. A quantitative evaluation formula was established to evaluate the impact of dark current and quantum efficiency of the CMOS image sensor on signal-to-noise ratio of camera in γ-ray radiation environment. This study provides the theoretical basis for the evaluation of the anti-radiation camera operating under strong nuclear radiation environment and contributes to the future development of nuclear industry.