Binnable time-of-flight pixel
US11832003B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 2022 |
| Grant date | Nov 28, 2023 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2042 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/701
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Binnable time-of-flight (ToF) pixels are described, such as for integration with image sensor pixels. Each binnable ToF pixel includes a central dump gate and sub-pixels that are nominally mirror-symmetric and identical around the dump gate. Each sub-pixel includes a photodiode region (or a respective portion of a photodiode region), a storage gate, a storage region, a transfer gate, and a floating diffusion (FD) region. In an array, the binnable ToF pixels are arranged to share FD regions with other binnable ToF pixels of the array. In an un-binned mode, each sub-pixel can integrate photocharge in its storage region until it is time for readout, at which time the photocharges can be transferred to its respective floating diffusion region for individualized readout. In a binned mode, sub-pixels can integrate photocharge directly in their FD regions, which facilitates charge binning of integrated photocharge from all sub-pixels sharing the same FD region.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.