6.1 Kino 2048 x 1024, Eight Output CCD Design: On the center/right of the SandboxIV wafer is an 8-output design that uses a similar cell structure to the PlutoCCD CCD. This design has been named Kino. The primary functional difference between PlutoCCD and Kino is the number of amplifiers. Kino has 8 output amplifiers and PlutoCCD has 4 output amplifiers. As the noise of a CCD is proportional to the square root of the bandwidth, the CCD demonstrates the 40 percent sensitivity improvement that is a result of moving to twice as many amplifiers. Issues such as cross talk, electronics complexity, and amplifier yield will be addressed in the characterization of the Kino design. Many of these issues were addressed with the SandboxIII ADAPTIII CCD design, which, as described above, has forty output amplifiers.

The Kino was designed with two basic configurations. The top two devices on the center of the wafer are designed with amplifiers that use a two-stage output structure. To demonstrate the tradeoffs between one- and two-stage amplifiers, a one-stage amplifier design of the Kino CCD was also included in this Sandbox^TM wafer. One-stage amplifier designs are usually superior at data rates below 500Kpix/sec. As one of the goals of this program was to demonstrate the superior performance of multiple output amplifiers with low noise, the possibility of large arrays with multiple output amplifiers may result in one-stage amplifier structures. This program will assess the performance expectations of such a design. The Kino 8 output CCD design is shown in Figure 6.1.

6.2 NightVideo^TM, 976 x 488 Element, Four Output CCD Design: The third core design located on the far right of the SandboxIV wafer is a 976 x 488 element NightVideo^TM CCD design that can be manufactured with Split Frame Transfer, Full Frame Transfer, or Full Frame architectures. The CCD uses the two-stage amplifier found on the PlutoCCD and the two-stage Kino design and is available with both MPP and non/MPP operation. The CCD can be operated in 30Hz progressive or 60Hz interlaced mode.