Research on pixel MTF of low-light image sensor

Low light detectors refer to photodetectors that perform imaging in lunar and lower illumination environments. The main types of detectors include electrical gain type detectors represented by EMCCD, photoelectric gain type detectors represented by Microchannel Panel (MCP) ICCD, and the latest scientific level CMOS image sensor (sCMOS). Enhanced low light detectors are more suitable for target detection and edge bright spot detection applications. Extremely dim targets can exceed the noise threshold with extremely high gain, so that the target will not be submerged in noise. Scientific grade CMOS image sensors are more suitable for array low light imaging applications, with better imaging quality than enhanced low light detectors. This article calculates the MTF based on the optical and electrical parameters of the low light detector. The comprehensive MTF at the Nyquist frequency of the three low light detectors are 0.48, 0.13, and 0.63, respectively.