Image sensor with very high dynamic range
US8692175B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 22, 2012 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 25, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/771
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A image sensor includes active pixels for gathering images at very high and very low luminance level. Each pixel includes at least one photodiode, a charge storage node, an electron multiplication amplification structure, a unit for transferring electrons from the photodiode to the structure, a unit for transferring electrons from the amplification structure to the storage node after multiplication, a transistor for reinitializing the potential of the storage node. The pixels are read by a reading circuit which samples the potential of the charge storage node after reinitialization and after transfer of the electrons into the storage node and which provides a corresponding illumination measurement. The sensor furthermore includes a unit for carrying out the integration of charge in two different durations in the course of one and the same frame, and for giving the amplification structure multiplication factors different to the charge integrated in the course of these durations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.