Solid state image sensor
US4710817A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 25, 1986 |
| Grant date | Dec 1, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 25, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/78
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A solid state image sensor comprising a plurality of photosensors (8A) including a plurality of avalanche photodiodes (12A) arranged at least in the form of a one-dimensional array and delivering pulse signals each representing the number of photons incident to each of the photosensors; counters (10A) connected to the respective photosensors (8A) to count the pulse signals and hold the count value as a video output; a reset circuit (5) for resetting the counters (10A) to the initial states at a predetermined frequency; and a scanning circuit (14) for sequentially reading out the count value in the counters (10A). The counter (10A) counts the number of photons subjected to photoelectric conversion by the photodiode (12A) so that the video signal is directly derived in the form of a digital signal and thus the video signal with a high S/N ratio is obtained.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.