WO2013030561A1 - Circuit de pixel - Google Patents
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- WO2013030561A1 WO2013030561A1 PCT/GB2012/052104 GB2012052104W WO2013030561A1 WO 2013030561 A1 WO2013030561 A1 WO 2013030561A1 GB 2012052104 W GB2012052104 W GB 2012052104W WO 2013030561 A1 WO2013030561 A1 WO 2013030561A1
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- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 21
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 claims description 18
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 claims description 5
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- 238000003384 imaging method Methods 0.000 description 6
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- 238000005316 response function Methods 0.000 description 2
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- 238000009416 shuttering Methods 0.000 description 2
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Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
- H04N25/50—Control of the SSIS exposure
- H04N25/57—Control of the dynamic range
- H04N25/571—Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
- H04N25/50—Control of the SSIS exposure
- H04N25/57—Control of the dynamic range
- H04N25/571—Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response
- H04N25/573—Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response the logarithmic type
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
- H04N25/50—Control of the SSIS exposure
- H04N25/57—Control of the dynamic range
- H04N25/571—Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response
- H04N25/575—Control of the dynamic range involving a non-linear response with a response composed of multiple slopes
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a circuit which converts light into electrical voltage. Such circuits are often referred to as “pixel circuits", or just “pixels".
- the invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with a pixel circuit which uses N OS type transistors.
- the invention also relates to image sensors for electronic imaging device having such pixel circuits and imaging devices have such imaging sensors.
- Electronic imaging devices such as digital cameras (both still and video) are generally based around an image sensor having an array of light-sensitive detectors. Each detector is arranged to detect the light falling on a part of the image sensor and its output is combined with the outputs of the other detectors in the image sensor to produce a complete picture.
- each light-sensitive detector relates to a picture element (which is normally referred to by the shorthand "pixel") and so is referred to as a pixel detector or pixel circuit.
- Light falling on each pixel detector generates an output signal corresponding to the amount of light (which may be the amount of light of a particular colour) falling on each of those detectors.
- the output signals from the pixel detectors are digitised and stored in an electronic file that contains the information which makes up the complete image.
- CCD computed tomography
- the amount of illumination varies from around 0.05 Lux On a moonlit night to around 100,000 Lux in bright daylight which is a range of over 6 orders of magnitude (also referred to as "decades").
- Cameras which are currently available are generally only able to capture around 2-3 decades of light and this can lead to saturation in the bright parts of a captured image.
- equipment to display images including paper, printers, computer screens and projectors are also limited in their abilities and display only 2-3 decades of intensity.
- a device which is able to capture a wide dynamic range (or which is able to artificially produce an image having a wide dynamic range)
- it has to be subsequently manipulated (which may require complex mathematical techniques) to fit the dynamic range of the display equipment. This process is referred to as tone mapping.
- each pixel detector includes a photosensor that is arranged to detect incident light and provide a signal that represents a time integral of the detected light intensity.
- a signal generator device is connected and arranged to generate a reference signal that varies according to a predetermined function.
- a comparator has a first input connected to receive the photosensor signal and a second input connected to receive the reference signal and an output for providing a capture signal. The comparator is arranged to generate a capture signal at a time determined by comparing the photosensor signal and the reference signal.
- a read out device is arranged to capture a read out signal upon receiving the capture signal. The read out signal represents a logarithm of the integrated detected light intensity.
- the sensor disclosed in this document uses two different kinds of transistors (NMOS and P OS) in the same pixel, thereby requiring several additional processing steps compared to a pixel with the same kind of transistors throughout. This results in higher manufacturing costs.
- P OS transistors in the pixel disclosed in this document means that a large area is required to electrically isolate these transistors from the substrate of other transistors in the pixel, and therefore a significant area of the pixel does not capture light. This reduces the "fill factor" (the ratio of the area in the pixel which captures the light compared to the total area of the pixel) and therefore the sensitivity of the pixel.
- a first aspect of the present invention provides circuit or pixel circuit which measures the output of a photo-sensitive device indirectly as a result of an independent process. Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention preferably provides a circuit for detecting light incident on the circuit and providing an electrical representation of that light, the circuit including: a photo-sensitive device having a photosensor input and a photosensor output; a signal generator generating a reference potential that varies with time according to a predetermined function; a first device arranged to set a potential at a first node, said first node being connected to said photosensor output; and a second device arranged to compare the potential at said first node to said reference potential, to determine a capture moment from the comparison and to output the value of said reference potential at said capture moment, wherein first device and said second device are devices which are arranged to conduct current between two of their nodes when the potential at a third node is higher than that at one of those nodes.
- the first and second device are n OS type transistors.
- transistors having similar behaviour may also be used.
- This circuit can produce a unique response to a wide dynamic range of input illumination.
- this circuit can produce any monotonically changing relationship between the input light and output voltage by choice of the predetermined function for the reference potential.
- the circuit By outputting the value of the reference potential at the capture moment (rather than, for example, the value of the voltage at the photosensor output), the circuit makes an indirect measurement of the light incident on the photo-sensitive device.
- the circuit can output a potential which is under control of the circuit, but the setting of that potential can be determined by the light incident on the photo-sensitive device.
- nMOS type transistors are generally much smaller than p OS or other kinds of transistors for a given performance. This means that the electronic part of the pixel can be relatively small thereby allowing for a greater space to be allocated to the photodiodes.
- the light capturing area in the pixel can be increased, which can consequently increase the sensitivity of the pixel.
- the circuit can provide for a high fill factor (as described above) and so less incident light is "wasted" by not being captured by the pixel, and is also easy to manufacture in any standard fabrication process of transistors.
- the photosensitive device is a photodiode.
- the photosensitive device is a photodiode.
- photosensitive device may be a photogate, a buried photodiode, a lateral bipolar
- the phototransistor or a vertical phototransistor could also be a vertically implanted photodiode made of materials such as amorphous silicon, nanotubes or other synthetic or organic chemicals.
- the circuit further includes a third device arranged to store said outputted value from said second device until it is read-out from the circuit.
- this third device is a source follower-switch pair of transistors, and those transistors are preferably nMOS type transistors as well.
- the same type of transistor is preferably used for all of the switches, they can be manufactured at the same time in the same process. This results in a high yield in fabrication and can reduce costs.
- the reference function is preferably constantly increasing over time.
- the reference function may be chosen so as to result in a relationship between the voltage output of the circuit and the incident light on the photo-sensitive device which is one of: a logarithmic function, a power law function, or a linear function. In preferred arrangements it is possible to select or change the reference function applied to the circuit.
- the above relationship is chosen to provide an output which is in the form of Steven's power law.
- Steven's power law is used to model the physiological function of the response of the human eye to incident light. Accordingly, by providing a circuit which has the above relationship, the performance of the circuit can closely follow the performance of the human eye with respect to different levels of illumination.
- V reset ⁇ 1 ⁇ 2,M4 V Kse , is the potential set at said first node by said first switch, V t ,M4 is the threshold voltage of the second device, which is the difference in potential between said potential at said first node and said reference potential which causes said second device to determine said capture moment, and Cpo is the capacitance of the photo-sensitive device.
- the reference function is defined by:
- V fesef is the potential set at said first node by said first switch
- V t .M4 is the threshold voltage of the second device, which is the difference in potential between said potential at said first node and said reference potential which causes said second device to determine said capture moment
- C PD is the capacitance of the photosensitive device
- O is an offset
- S is the slope of the logarithmic function desired
- l r is a reference photocurrent, so as to produce a logarithmic response.
- a logarithmic response allows light intensity to be accurately recorded over a wide dynamic range (e.g. 6 or more decades).
- the time taken for the reference potential to cover the entire voltage range from zero to the maximum potential of said circuit can be adjusted.
- the reference potential is arranged so that it does not start increasing until a predetermined amount of time has elapsed from the time at which said potential at said first node has started to be changed as a result of light falling on said photo-sensitive device.
- said first device is a reset switch which is arranged to set the potential at said first node to a high potential and then to isolate said first node from the source of said potential, and said photo-sensitive device is arranged to discharge said potential at said first node as light falls on it.
- said capture moment may occur when said potential at said first node is a predetermined amount below said reference potential. This may be the threshold voltage of the first device.
- the reference potential varies in such a way so as to produce a compressed image which is suitable for display on various media without further adjustment. This allows the device to reduce the processing requirements for tone mapping by recording the image in a form which reduces or even removes the need for tone mapping prior to display of the image.
- the circuit of the first aspect may include some, all or none of the above described optional and preferred features in any combination.
- a second aspect of the present invention provides an image sensor including a plurality of circuits according to the above first aspect, including some, all or none of the optional and preferred features of that aspect, and a control unit for reading out the output of those circuits.
- control unit is arranged to read out the output of each of the circuits and to reset all of said circuits at the same time.
- the control unit is arranged to read out the output of each of the circuits and to reset all of said circuits at the same time.
- a global shutter is a particularly advantageous feature as it reduces or preferably eliminates any lag between the time at which an image is captured by each circuit in the image sensor. The reduction or elimination of such lag is particularly advantageous in respect of the capture of images of moving objects.
- the global shutter can be applied in conjunction with any form of reference function, including functions which result in a relationship between the incident light and the output potential which is in a linear form similar to existing pixels.
- the signal generator for each of said plurality of circuits is the same device. Therefore the image sensor need not duplicate the signal generator for each pixel and therefore keep the space associated with the image sensor as small as possible.
- the image sensor may have a plurality of signal generators, or a single signal generator which is able to produce different forms of reference function. This can allow the control unit to change the reference function applied to at least one of said circuits.
- the different reference signal may be applied to all of said circuits, or only to selected ones of said circuit. As such, in a particular image capture at least two of said circuits may have different reference functions which operate over the same recording time.
- the image sensor preferably further includes an analogue to digital converter for converting the output of said circuits to digital form.
- a third aspect of the present invention provides a camera having an image sensor according to the above second aspect including some, all or none of the optional or preferred features of that aspect.
- the camera of this aspect may include additional components, such as lenses, memory devices, screens and buttons or other components which permit user interaction with the camera and any combination of such components.
- a fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method of recording a level of light incident on a photo-sensor in a manner which measures the light intensity indirectly as a consequence of an independent process.
- the method can output a potential which is a known value, but the selection of that potential can be determined by the light incident on the device.
- the fourth aspect of the present invention may provide a method of recording a level of light incident on a device including the steps of: varying a reference signal according to a predetermined function from a designated start time; and recording a value of said reference signal at a point in time after said start time determined by the amount of light incident on said device since said start time.
- the predetermined function of said reference signal may be any of the functions described in relation to the first aspect above.
- the method of this aspect preferably, but not necessarily, involves using a circuit according to the above first aspect, including some, all or none of the optional or preferred features of that aspect.
- Figure 1 shows a circuit forming a pixel according to an embodiment of the present invention
- Figure 2 shows a graph of various potentials in the circuit of Figure 1 and is used to illustrate its operation
- Figure 3 shows the measured response from a circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention
- Figures 4a and 4b show graphs of various potentials in a circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention and are used to illustrate the "zoom" feature
- Figure 5 shows graphs of various potentials in a circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention and is used to illustrate operation as a linear pixel with a global shutter.
- Figure 1 shows a circuit which is a pixel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- the circuit has 4 nMOS type transistors M1-M4, and one photodiode, PD.
- transistors of this embodiment are nMOS type, any kind of transistor having functioning similar to that of an nMOS transistor can be used.
- the pixel of the present embodiment has circuitry built from nMOS type transistors in a standard planer CMOS process, the same circuit can also be built by transistors having similar behaviour, that is, the transistor conducts current between two nodes (switches on), when the potential on a third node is higher than one f the nodes.
- the pixel could be made from vertical or multi-gate transistors (ike FinFets, trigate transistors and Junction field effect transistors (JFETs).
- the photo-sensitive device of this embodiment is a photodiode PD
- the photosensitive device may be a photogate, a buried photodiode, a lateral bipolar phototransistor or a vertical phototransistor.
- the photodiode may be a vertically implanted photodiode made of materials such as amorphous silicon, nanotubes or other synthetic or organic chemicals.
- Node N111 is connected to a high voltage, which in the preferred embodiment is the power supply to the circuit. Through node N105 a pulse reset signal is applied to the circuit.
- Node N100 is connected to a low potential, which in a preferred embodiment is the ground potential.
- Devices M2 and M3 form a source follower-switch pair which can be used to selectively connect to the circuit in a large array of such pixels, for example in a image sensor according to a further embodiment of the present invention.
- the output nodes N101 and N102 are connected to other circuits as required to readout the output of the pixel circuit.
- the data from the pixel may be read out through alternative switches and amplifiers (or a series of amplifiers).
- switches and amplifiers or a series of amplifiers.
- a further amplifier or amplifiers
- Such amplifiers and switches are well known in the art and will not be described further here.
- a monotonieally increasing signal (i.e. one that is constantly changing and ramping up) is fed into the circuit.
- This monotonieally increasing signal is dependant on the kind of input-output relationship desired between the incident light on the photodiode and the output voltage.
- the reset 105 After a small interval, at time to, the reset 105 is pulled low thereby disconnecting the photodiode PD from high voltage at node N 01.
- the voltage at node N104 is swept up according to the output pattern desired which will be discussed in more detail below.
- an illumination 11 causes the potential at N1 (and therefore at the gate of device 4) to reduce as shown by the dotted line in Figure 2, at time f1, the potential at the gate of the device M4 is lower than the potential at its source (N104) and hence, the voltage applied at node N104 is transferred to node N2.
- the potential at the gate of the device must be sufficiently lower than the potential at the gate (N1) to switch the device 4 off.
- the nature of transistors such as M4 is that this switching does not occur at exact equality of potentials.
- the potential of node N1 decreases and that of node N 04 increases from time (0.
- the gate potential of device 4 becomes lower than its source potential.
- the device switches off and the potential at node N2 remains stuck at the cutting off potential.
- the cutoff potential is determined by the photocurrent in the diode PD and the kind of sweep applied at node 104.
- One example of the voltage applied at node 04 is shown in Figure 2.
- the voltage at node N2 is read out by switching on the device M3 using node N103. This makes the potential at N2 available at node N 02.
- the reset signal at node N 05 feeding the gate of the device 1 is pulled high again, thereby switching the device M1 on and hence removing all charge at node N1. This restarts the process from the first step above.
- the output voltage is V1 for high input light 11.
- Lower light levels 12 and 13 produce higher voltages V2 and V3 respectively.
- V, eset is the voltage at node N1 at time W when it is reset
- f is the time elapsed
- W is the current produced in the photodiode due to light falling on it
- C P0 is the diode capacitance.
- the known properties of device 4 are such that it will switch off when the difference between its gate voltage (node N1) and its source voltage (node 104) is less than the threshold voltage of the device (V, iM4 ).
- the transduction function f ⁇ l PD is the Steven's power law which may be used to obtain a wide dynamic response and to model the physiological function of the human eye.
- V F - al PD p (6)
- F is an offset which, in the preferred embodiment, is V, eS et - 1 ⁇ 2.
- V Nm ⁇ t) a - bf (7) where the parameters a, b and c are:
- the pixel is adapted to produce a logarithmic response.
- the reference voltage applied at node 104 needs to produce a logarithmic output.
- This function can take the form of a function previously described in H.Y. Cheng, B. Choubey and S. Collins, "A High Dynamic Range Integrating Pixel with an Adaptive Logarithmic Response", in IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Volume 19, Issue 15, Aug 1 , 2007, pages 1169-1171.
- the sweep function to be applied at node 104 to produce a logarithmic response may be defined by:
- the pixel can be arranged so as to deliberately reduce the dynamic range of the pixel in order to "zoom in” on a certain range of intensities.
- the sweep voltage applied at node N104 may be modified to cover the entire voltage range within a smaller amount of time. Furthermore, the sweep voltage can be time shifted (delayed) to ensure it only covers a specific region of intensity. For example, the sweep voltage at node N104 shown in Figure 4a is delayed and has been designed so as to cover only specific regions of intensities.
- a further embodiment of the present invention provides an image sensor having a plurality of pixel circuits according to the present invention.
- the pixel circuits are generally arranged in a two-dimensional array, although other configurations (such as a one-dimensional array for capturing a single line image).
- the image sensor includes circuits for reading out the image data captured by the pixel circuits.
- the image sensor includes row and column scanners to individually access the information stored by each pixel.
- the image sensor also includes an analogue-to-digital converter for converting the analogue voltage outputs of the pixel circuits into a digital format for storage in a computer-readable format.
- the image sensor may have one or more analogue-to-digital converters for every column.
- an anatogue-to-digital converter may be provided for each pixel in order to increase the speed of operation.
- a further embodiment of the present invention provides a pixel as described above with an analogue-to-digital converter.
- Image sensors having a plurality of pixel circuits according to the present invention can also operate a global shutter such that the data can be read from the pixels simultaneously and the pixels reset at the same time as each other.
- the output of the pixel is held at the point at which the device M4 switches off.
- the sweep voltage applied at node N104 covers the full possible output range of voltages at node N1 (which are determined by the output of the photodiode PD)
- the device M4 will always switch off during a particular integration frame or image capture.
- the voltage at node N2 will be held at the readout voltage until it is read out.
- the entire image data can be read-out, e.g. on a row- by-row basis, but it is not necessary to reset the pixels until read-out from all pixels in the image sensor has happened, at which point all pixels can be reset at the same time, thereby providing a global shutter.
- a further embodiment of the present invention provides an image sensor having such pixels.
- the output of the pixels can be chosen by the choice of the reference potential which is supplied to the node N104.
- a linear function is supplied to the node N104 in accordance with the region of intensities required. This results in a linear relationship between the input light intensity and the output potential as shown in Figure 5.
- the device M4 will always switch off at some point during the integration frame or image capture with the potential at that point being held at node N2 until it is read-out.
- the global shutter feature described above can be used in conjunction with the linear pixels as well.
- Image sensors may be constructed with electronic scanning circuits in every row and column to enable pixel by pixel readout, These can also be used for selective access to each pixel.
- An image sensor which is a two-dimensional array of pixels may also have an inverting amplifier at the end of each column. Such an amplifier may be used to ensure that the monotonically decreasing response of the pixel is converted into a monotonically increasing output.
- Wide dynamic images in general cannot be displayed on standard screens owing to their limited dynamic range. In order to do so, the image's brightness range is compressed through a process known as tone mapping. Essentially, tone mapping involves application of a chosen mathematical operator to the response of every pixel.
- both of these functions, as well as any other monotonically decreasing function, can be reproduced by a pixel. Therefore, the pixel can be used to produce a tone mapped image ready for direct display on a screen. Furthermore, the monotonically increasing function fed to the pixel can be generated using a look-up table, thereby generating responses for which no simple mathematical form exists. This helps in reproducing even complex tone mapping operators.
- a further embodiment of the present invention provides pixel circuits which are specifically adapted for producing images which are suitable for display on computer screens and projectors, or for printing where the display or printer is only capable of displaying a limited range of intensity, typically 2-3 decades.
- the reference potential applied to node N104 is changed to meet the functionality of the required output function and thereby apply the tone mapping effects at the time of recording the image, reducing the need for post-recording processing of the image.
- the most common tone mapping operators include logarithmic, sigmoid or power law functions.
- a common power law function is 1/3 power.
- equations (7) and (8) above can be used to generate a tone- mapped image.
- the parameter ⁇ is set to 1/3.
- the appropriate response function can be achieved by utilizing equations (4) and (5) with the appropriate sigmoid function.
- the tone mapped image produced by the image sensor can then be directly displayed on a screen.
- a further embodiment of the present invention provides an image sensor having a plurality of pixels which are able to acquire images and which use a plurality of different reference functions taking the same overall integration time. This allows the image sensor to zoom in on different regions of intensities in different parts of the image sensor.
- the cameras of these embodiments include additional components, such as lenses, memory devices, screens and buttons or other components which permit user interaction with the camera, as known on existing cameras,
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- Transforming Light Signals Into Electric Signals (AREA)
Abstract
L'invention concerne un circuit destiné à détecter une lumière incidente sur ledit circuit et à donner une représentation électrique de ladite lumière (généralement appelé pixel), le circuit comprenant : un dispositif photosensible doté d'une entrée de photodétecteur et d'une sortie de photodétecteur ; un générateur de signal générant un potentiel de référence qui varie dans le temps suivant une fonction prédéterminée ; un premier dispositif agencé en vue d'établir un potentiel en un premier nœud, ledit premier nœud étant relié à ladite sortie de photodétecteur ; et un deuxième dispositif agencé en vue de comparer le potentiel dudit premier nœud audit potentiel de référence pour déterminer un instant de capture à partir de la comparaison et pour délivrer la valeur dudit potentiel de référence audit instant de capture, le premier dispositif et ledit deuxième dispositif étant des dispositifs agencés en vue de conduire un courant entre deux de leurs nœuds lorsque le potentiel en un troisième nœud est supérieur à celui de l'un desdits nœuds. De préférence, les premier et deuxième dispositifs sont des transistors nMOS. Le pixel peut donner un dispositif qui est capable de capter un éclairage sur une gamme étendue d'intensités, qui est formé d'un seul type de dispositif et qui présente une grande surface de captage de lumière (présente un facteur de remplissage élevé). Un capteur d'image incorporant une pluralité de tels circuits et une caméra ou autre dispositif d'enregistrement muni d'un capteur d'image sont également décrits.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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GB1114898.8 | 2011-08-26 | ||
GBGB1114898.8A GB201114898D0 (en) | 2011-08-26 | 2011-08-26 | Pixel circuit |
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WO2013030561A1 true WO2013030561A1 (fr) | 2013-03-07 |
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PCT/GB2012/052104 WO2013030561A1 (fr) | 2011-08-26 | 2012-08-28 | Circuit de pixel |
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WO (1) | WO2013030561A1 (fr) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US12174064B2 (en) | 2020-12-15 | 2024-12-24 | Ams-Osram Ag | Circuit for high-sensitivity radiation sensing |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1999030368A1 (fr) * | 1997-12-08 | 1999-06-17 | Intel Corporation | Pixel actif haute sensibilite a obturateur electronique |
US6054704A (en) * | 1998-06-30 | 2000-04-25 | Foveon, Inc. | Driven capacitor storage pixel sensor and array |
US20050269488A1 (en) * | 2004-06-04 | 2005-12-08 | Via Technologies Inc. | Image sensor and operating method thereof |
-
2011
- 2011-08-26 GB GBGB1114898.8A patent/GB201114898D0/en not_active Ceased
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2012
- 2012-08-28 WO PCT/GB2012/052104 patent/WO2013030561A1/fr active Application Filing
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1999030368A1 (fr) * | 1997-12-08 | 1999-06-17 | Intel Corporation | Pixel actif haute sensibilite a obturateur electronique |
US6054704A (en) * | 1998-06-30 | 2000-04-25 | Foveon, Inc. | Driven capacitor storage pixel sensor and array |
US20050269488A1 (en) * | 2004-06-04 | 2005-12-08 | Via Technologies Inc. | Image sensor and operating method thereof |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US12174064B2 (en) | 2020-12-15 | 2024-12-24 | Ams-Osram Ag | Circuit for high-sensitivity radiation sensing |
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