Imaging system having redundant pixel groupings
US6756576B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 30, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 29, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 22, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10F39/803
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Imaging arrays are electronic devices that sense light and output electrical signals representative of the sensed light. An imaging array comprises thousands or millions of photodetectors that convert sensed light into corresponding electric signals, which are ultimately converted into digital image signals for recording or viewing. One problem with conventional imaging arrays concerns defective or malfunctioning photodetectors. Defective photodetectors typically result in erroneous image signals that ultimately degrade the quality of resulting images. Accordingly, the present inventors devised new imaging arrays including redundant photodetectors to compensate for defective photodetectors. One exemplary embodiment includes one or more photodetectors that are substantially smaller than conventional photodetectors, for example about 10 or 25 square microns. The smaller-than-conventional photodetectors are arranged into two or more groups, with each group having two or more photodetectors coupled to produce a single group image signal. If the group image signal for a group falls below some threshold level indicative of a defective or malfunctioning photodetector, the group image sign…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.