公开(公告)号：EP2316221A1

公开(公告)日：2011-05-04

申请号：EP09792037.5

申请日：2009-08-28

申请人： MESA Imaging AG ,  Houston, J. Grant

发明人： LEHMANN, Michael ,  BUETTGEN, Bernhard

IPC分类号： H04N5/335 ,  H01L27/146 ,  H01L31/113

CPC分类号： H04N5/335 ,  G01S7/4914 ,  H01L27/14603 ,  H01L27/14609 ,  H04N5/369

摘要： A demodulation pixel architecture allows for demodulating an incoming modulated electromagnetic wave, normally visible or infrared light. It is based on a charge coupled device (CCD) line connected to a drift field structure. The drift field is exposed to the incoming light. It collects the generated charge and forces it to move to the pick-up point. At this pick-up point, the CCD element samples the charge for a given time and then shifts the charge packets further on in the daisy chain. After a certain amount of shifts, the multiple charge packets are stored in so-called integration gates, in a preferred embodiment. The number of integration gates gives the number of simultaneously available taps. When the cycle is repeated several times, the charge is accumulated in the integration gates and thus the signal-to-noise ratio increases. The architecture is flexible in the number of taps. A dump node can be attached to the CCD line for dumping charge with the same speed as the samples are taken. Different implementations are described herein, which allow for smaller design or faster speed. The pixel structure can be exploited for e.g. 3D time-of-flight imaging. Both heterodyne and homodyne measurements are possible. Due to the highly-efficient charge transport enabled by static drift fields in the photo-sensitive region and small-sized gates in the CCD chain, high frequency bandwidth from just a few Hertz (Hz) up to greater GHz is supported. Thus, the pixel allows for highly-accurate optical distance measurements. Another possible application of this pixel architecture is fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), where short laser pulses for triggering the fluorescence have to be suppressed.

公开(公告)号：EP2441246A1

公开(公告)日：2012-04-18

申请号：EP10728064.6

申请日：2010-06-09

申请人： MESA Imaging AG ,  Houston, J. Grant

发明人： BUETTGEN, Bernhard ,  LEHMANN, Michael ,  FELBER, Jonas

IPC分类号： H04N5/335 ,  H04N3/15 ,  G01S17/89

CPC分类号： H04N5/359 ,  G01S7/4914 ,  G01S17/89 ,  H04N5/335 ,  H04N5/37452

摘要： A method and system enable the subtraction of charge carrier packages in the low-noise charge domain, which is particularly interesting for the operation of demodulation pixels when high background light signals are present. The method comprises the following steps: demodulation of an optical signal and integration of the photo-generated charge carriers; charge transfer to an external capacitance. The second step means a recombination of electrons and holes in the charge domain and an influencing of the opposite charge carriers on the second plate of the capacitance. This approach allows for low-noise subtraction of charge packages in the charge domain and, at the same time, for creating pixels with much higher fill factors because the capacitances can be optimized for storing just the differential parts, without the DC component.

公开(公告)号：EP2297783A1

公开(公告)日：2011-03-23

申请号：EP09717139.1

申请日：2009-03-04

申请人： MESA Imaging AG ,  Houston, J. Grant

发明人： BUETTGEN, Bernhard ,  LEHMANN, Michael ,  FELBER, Jonas

IPC分类号： H01L27/146 ,  G01J9/00 ,  G01S7/491 ,  G01S17/89 ,  H03D9/06

CPC分类号： H01L27/14609 ,  G01S7/4914 ,  G01S17/89 ,  H01L27/14641

摘要： A pixel based on a pinned-photodiode structure that creates a lateral electric drift field. The combination of the photodiode with adjacent CCD gates enables the utilization of the drift field device in applications such as 3-D imaging. Compared with recently used demodulation devices in CCD or CMOS technology, the new pinned-photodiode based drift field pixel has its advantages in its wide independence of the quantum efficiency on the optical wavelength, its high optical sensitivity, the opportunity of easily creating arbitrary potential distributions in the semiconductor, the straight-forward routing capabilities and the generation of perfectly linear potential distributions in the semiconductor.

公开(公告)号：EP2828891A1

公开(公告)日：2015-01-28

申请号：EP13719601.0

申请日：2013-03-20

申请人： MESA Imaging AG

发明人： BUETTGEN, Bernhard ,  LEHMANN, Michael ,  VAELLO, Bruno

IPC分类号： H01L27/146

CPC分类号： H01L31/1125 ,  H01L27/14603 ,  H01L27/14614 ,  H01L27/14643 ,  H01L29/4983 ,  H01L31/1804

摘要： A novel photo-sensitive element for electronic imaging purposes and, in this context, is particularly suited for time-of-flight 3D imaging sensor pixels. The element enables charge-domain photo-detection and processing based on a single gate architecture. Certain regions for n and p-doping implants of the gates are defined. This kind of single gate architecture enables low noise photon detection and high-speed charge transport methods at the same time. A strong benefit compared to known pixel structures is that no special processing steps are required such as overlapping gate structures or very high- ohmic poly-silicon deposition. In this sense, the element relaxes the processing methods so that this device may be integrated by the use of standard CMOS technology for example. Regarding time-of-flight pixel technology, a major challenge is the generation of lateral electric fields. The element allows the generation of fringing fields and large lateral electric fields.

公开(公告)号：EP2758801A1

公开(公告)日：2014-07-30

申请号：EP12801626.8

申请日：2012-09-20

申请人： MESA Imaging AG

发明人： LEHMANN, Michael ,  OGGIER, Thierry ,  BUETTGEN, Bernhard

IPC分类号： G01S17/89 ,  G01S7/491 ,  H01L27/146 ,  H04N5/3745

摘要： A demodulation image sensor, such as used in time of flight (TOF) cameras, extracts all storage- and post-processing-related steps from the pixels to another array of storage and processing elements (proxels) on the chip. The pixel array has the task of photo-detection, first processing and intermediate storage to create subframes, while the array of storage and processing elements provides accumulation into frames. Particularly, sampled values of several subframes are summed in a compressed manner. Possible compression is to use exponential function.

公开(公告)号：EP1771882B1

公开(公告)日：2013-09-11

申请号：EP05760793.9

申请日：2005-07-25

申请人： MESA Imaging AG

发明人： COTTIER, Kaspar ,  KAUFMANN, Rolf ,  KUNZ, Rino, E. ,  OGGIER, Thierry ,  VOIRIN, Guy ,  NEUKOM, Simon ,  LEHMANN, Michael

IPC分类号： H01L27/146 ,  G01N21/64

CPC分类号： H01L31/0232 ,  H01L27/14601 ,  H01L27/14623 ,  H01L27/148 ,  H01L31/02005

公开(公告)号：EP1730779B1

公开(公告)日：2012-03-21

申请号：EP05714726.6

申请日：2005-03-31

申请人： MESA Imaging AG

发明人： KAUFMANN, Rolf ,  LEHMANN, Michael ,  SEITZ, Peter

IPC分类号： H01L27/146

CPC分类号： H01L27/14603

摘要： The pixel for use in an image sensor comprises a low-doped semiconductor substrate (A). On the substrate (A), an arrangement of a plurality of floating areas, e.g., floating gates (FG2-FG6), is provided. Neighboring floating gates are electrically isolated from each other yet capacitively coupled to each other. By applying a voltage (V2 - V1) to two contact areas (FG1, FG7), a lateral steplike electric field is generated. Photogenerated charge carriers move along the electric-field lines to the point of highest potential energy, where a floating diffusion (D) accumulate the photocharges. The charges accumulated in the various pixels are sequentially read out with a suitable circuit known from image-sensor literature, such as a source follower or a charge amplifier with row and column select mechanisms. The pixel of offers at the same time a large sensing area, a high photocharge-detection sensitivity and a high response speed, without any static current consumption.