Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Image sensor with multiple integration periods
- Patent Title (中): 具有多个积分期的图像传感器
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Application No.: US12273164Application Date: 2008-11-18
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Publication No.: US08253090B2Publication Date: 2012-08-28
- Inventor: Frédéric Barbier , Benoît Deschamps
- Applicant: Frédéric Barbier , Benoît Deschamps
- Applicant Address: FR Montrouge
- Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.A.
- Current Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.A.
- Current Assignee Address: FR Montrouge
- Agency: Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
- Priority: EP07301561 20071120
- Main IPC: H01L27/00
- IPC: H01L27/00

Abstract:
A method of reading voltages from an image sensor having an array of pixels, each pixel having at least one photodiode connectable to a storage node, the method having: controlling each pixel in a row of pixels to transfer charge accumulated in the photodiode above a first threshold to the storage node at the start and end of a first integration period and reading a first voltage at the storage node of each pixel in the row at the end of the first integration period; controlling of the pixels in the row to transfer charge accumulated in the photodiode above a second threshold to the storage node at the start and end of a second integration period longer than the first integration period, and reading a second voltage value at the storage node of each pixel in the row at the end of the second integration period; controlling each pixel in a row of pixels to transfer charge accumulated in the photodiode to the storage node at the end of a third integration period longer than the first and second integration periods; comparing for each pixel in the row, the first voltage values with a reference voltage; and based on the comparison, for each pixel in the row, performing one of: determining a pixel output value based on the first and/or second voltage values; and reading a third voltage value at the end of the third integration period, and determining a pixel output value based on the second and/or third voltage values.
Public/Granted literature
- US20090127438A1 IMAGE SENSOR WITH MULTIPLE INTEGRATION PERIODS Public/Granted day:2009-05-21
Information query
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