Scientific Charge Coupled Devices James Janesick SPIE Press, Vol. Jim is one of the original developers of CCDs for astronomy and gives the regular SPIE short technical courses on them. I haven't seen this one either. CCDs are ICs made from Si using CMOS technology. A photon striking the Si creates an electron-hole pair which migrates into the material, producing a voltage potential gradient.
Red photons penetrate deepest.
Various commercial implementations of the concept are described, along with techniques to expand the bandwidth sensitivity, eliminate noise and record signals from CCDs. Recent experience indicates, however, that the full potential of CCD performance lies well beyond that realized in devices currently available. Test data suggest that major improvements are feasible in spectral response, charge collection, charge transfer, and readout noise. These properties, their measurement in existing CCDs, and their potential for future improvement are discussed in this paper.