Active pixel sensor with programmable color balance
First Claim
1. A semiconductor based, active pixel image sensor comprising:
- an active pixel sensor comprising;
a plurality of active pixels formed upon a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of the pixels having a photodetector which plurality of pixels are arranged in a plurality of columns and rows for forming a two dimensional array;
wherein the active pixels convert a charge packet to voltage signal;
a plurality of color filters of at least two different colors arranged over a majority of the pixels for forming colored pixels which are arranged with at least two different colored pixels in a single row;
a plurality of transfer gates, the transfer gates being adjacent to the photodetectors and controlled by one of a plurality of electrodes, the transfer gates being capable of modulating the electrostatic potential adjacent to the photodetector upon application of a predetermined voltage to the electrode for that transfer gate to remove charge from the photodetector;
at least two buses per row arranged such that there is at least one bus for each color of the different colors in the row, each of the buses being operatively connected to the transfer gates associated with only one of the different colors through one of the electrodes;
wherein all signals from pixels in a single row are read out substantially simultaneously to their corresponding buses;
interface means for providing an electrical connection to a timing circuit, the interface means having at least one connection to each of the color buses and at least one input from the timing circuit for each connection;
whereby each of the different colors can have an integration period that is controlled by the timing circuit independent from other of the different colors, and the integration time of substantially all colors in the entire two dimensional array ends substantially simultaneously.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A semiconductor based image sensor comprising a plurality of pixels formed upon a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, a majority of the pixels having a photodetector with a plurality of color filters of at least two different colors arranged over a second majority of the pixels a sense node formed within each of the pixels and operatively connected to CMOS control circuitry a plurality of busses arranged such that there is at least one unique bus operatively connected to the pixels for each color and interface means for providing an electrical connection to a timing circuit, the interface means having individual connections to each of the busses and capable of providing the predetermined voltage on the busses at a desired time.
228 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A semiconductor based, active pixel image sensor comprising:
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an active pixel sensor comprising;
a plurality of active pixels formed upon a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of the pixels having a photodetector which plurality of pixels are arranged in a plurality of columns and rows for forming a two dimensional array;
wherein the active pixels convert a charge packet to voltage signal;
a plurality of color filters of at least two different colors arranged over a majority of the pixels for forming colored pixels which are arranged with at least two different colored pixels in a single row;
a plurality of transfer gates, the transfer gates being adjacent to the photodetectors and controlled by one of a plurality of electrodes, the transfer gates being capable of modulating the electrostatic potential adjacent to the photodetector upon application of a predetermined voltage to the electrode for that transfer gate to remove charge from the photodetector;
at least two buses per row arranged such that there is at least one bus for each color of the different colors in the row, each of the buses being operatively connected to the transfer gates associated with only one of the different colors through one of the electrodes;
wherein all signals from pixels in a single row are read out substantially simultaneously to their corresponding buses;
interface means for providing an electrical connection to a timing circuit, the interface means having at least one connection to each of the color buses and at least one input from the timing circuit for each connection;
whereby each of the different colors can have an integration period that is controlled by the timing circuit independent from other of the different colors, and the integration time of substantially all colors in the entire two dimensional array ends substantially simultaneously. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A semiconductor based, active pixel image sensor comprising:
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an active pixel sensor comprising;
a plurality of active pixels formed upon a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of the pixels each having a photodetector which plurality of pixels are arranged in a plurality of columns and rows for forming a two dimensional array;
wherein the active pixels convert a charge packet to voltage signal;
a plurality of color filters of at least two different colors arranged over a majority of the pixels for forming colored pixels which arranged with at least two different colored pixels in a single row;
a plurality of gates adjacent to the photodetectors and controlled by one of a plurality of electrodes, the gates being capable of draining charge from the photodetector upon application of a predetermined voltage to the electrode for that gate;
a sense node formed within the pixel and operatively connected to CMOS control circuitry;
at least two buses per row arranged such that there is at least one bus for each color of the color filters in the row, each of the buses being operatively connected to the gates associated with only one of the colors through one of the electrodes;
wherein all signals from pixels in a single row are read out substantially simultaneously to their corresponding buses;
interface means for providing an electrical connection to a timing circuit, the interface means having individual connections to each of the buses and capable of providing the predetermined voltage on the buses at a desired time;
whereby each color can have an integration period that is controlled by the timing circuit independent from an equivalent integration for the other colors, and the integration time of substantially all colors in the entire two dimensional array ends substantially simultaneously. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A semiconductor based, active pixel image sensor comprising:
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an active pixel sensor comprising;
a plurality of active pixels formed upon a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, a majority of the pixels having a photodetector which pixels are arranged in a plurality of columns and rows for forming a two dimensional array;
wherein the active pixels convert a charge packet to a voltage signal;
a plurality of color filters of at least two different colors arranged over a second majority of the pixels for forming colored pixels which are arranged with at least two different colored pixels in a single row;
a sense node formed within each of the pixels and operatively connected to CMOS control circuitry;
at least two buses per row arranged such that there is at least one unique bus operatively connected to the pixels for each color in the row;
wherein all signals from pixels in a single row are read out substantially simultaneously to their corresponding buses; and
interface means for providing an electrical connection to a timing circuit, the interface means having individual connections to each of the buses and capable of providing the predetermined voltage on the buses at a desired time;
whereby each color can have an integration period that is controlled by the timing circuit independent from an equivalent integration for the other colors, and the integration time of substantially all colors in the entire two dimensional array ends substantially simultaneously. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification