Image sensor
US6291810A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 18, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/78
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A voltage at an output terminal of a photodiode is reset to a fixed voltage and an output signal of the photodiode and a dummy signal matching a dark output signal is output by a dummy photodiode comprising an identical component as that of the photodiode. The voltage difference between an input side and an output side of an amplifier is made to match the difference between a reset voltage of the photodiode and a reset voltage of a common signal line and a reset voltage of an output terminal to optimize the size of a MOS transistor forming the amplifier. The offset voltage is set to a constant which does not depend on the size of the MOS transistor. The amplifier is formed with CMOS devices and is selectively operated only during an output operation to suppress the current consumption.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.