Patent · US Active

CMOS light sensor with the quantity of light sensing cells along a line is more than the quantity of corresponding capacitors and operation method thereof

US7501612B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
2References
39Claims
0Family size

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 17, 2007
Grant dateMar 10, 2009
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 17, 2027

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH10F39/12
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A CMOS light sensor and the operation method thereof are disclosed. The CMOS light sensor has a plurality of light sensing lines and a plurality of capacitor lines. Each light sensing line has a plurality of light sensors such that the number of capacitors in each capacitor line is smaller than the number of light sensing cells in each light sensing line. The capacitors are used for holding a portion of the potentials produced by the light sensing cells due to illumination. The method of operating the CMOS light sensor includes transferring the data captured by the light sensing line to the capacitor line and reading out the data according to a pre-defined order so that the leakage of charges from the capacitor is reduced.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.