Combined optical/electrical simulation of CCD cell structures by means of the finite-difference time-domain method

A complete optoelectronic simulation of a CCD cell structure is presented. We combined the finite-difference time-domain method for simulation of the light propagation with electric device simulation methods based on drift/diffusion charge carrier transport models. In this way, the operation of the CCD can be modeled in a rigorous manner without simplifications of the geometry or use of approximate methods. As pixel sizes are continuously reduced, such rigorous models are of crucial importance for the analysis and optimization of the device performance.