Physical information acquisition method, physical information acquisition device, and semiconductor device

• US 8,035,069 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2009
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sato, Genta, Toda, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, JOHN R
• Application Number:
  US12/604,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20100038543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 250/208.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14647 Multicolour imagers having a stacked pixel-element structure, e.g. npn, npnpn or MQW elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/133 including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/136 using complementary colours
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/70 SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/64 Circuits for processing colour signals H04N9/77 takes precedence; camera processing pipelines for processing colour signals H04N23/84

Abstract

A physical information acquisition method in which a corresponding wavelength region of visible light with at least one visible light detection unit coupled to an image signal processing unit is detected, each said visible light detection unit comprising a color filter adapted to transmit the corresponding wavelength region of visible light; a wavelength region of infrared light with at least one infrared light detection unit coupled to the image signal processing unit is detected; and, with the signal processing unit, a first signal received from the at least one visible light detection unit by subtracting a product from said first signal is corrected, said product resulting from multiplication of a second signal received from the at least one infrared light detection unit and a predetermined coefficient factor.

Claims

1. A method, said method comprising:

detecting a corresponding wavelength region of visible light with at least one visible light detection unit coupled to an image signal processing unit, each said visible light detection unit comprising a color filter adapted to transmit the corresponding wavelength region of visible light;

detecting a wavelength region of infrared light with at least one infrared light detection unit coupled to the image signal processing unit; and

correcting, with the signal processing unit, a first signal received from the at least one visible light detection unit by subtracting a product from said first signal, said product resulting from multiplication of a second signal received from the at least one infrared light detection unit and a first predetermined coefficient factor;

wherein;

prior to subtracting the product from said first signal, the signal processing unit performs a nonlinear sensitivity correction on said first signal by multiplying said first signal by (one minus a second product), the second product resulting from multiplication of said second signal received from the at least one infrared light detection unit and a second predetermined coefficient factor, the second predetermined coefficient factor being different from the first predetermined coefficient factor.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said visible light detection unit has no means for infrared light filtering.

3. An apparatus comprising:

at least one visible light detection unit coupled to an image signal processing unit, each said visible light detection unit comprising a color filter adapted to transmit a corresponding wavelength region of visible light;

at least one infrared light detection unit adapted to detect a wavelength region of infrared light and coupled to said image signal processing unit;

wherein;

the signal processing unit corrects a first signal received from the at least one visible light detection unit by subtracting a product from said first signal, said product resulting from multiplication of a second signal received from the at least one infrared light detection unit and a predetermined coefficient factor; and

wherein;

prior to subtracting the product from said first signal, the signal processing unit performs a nonlinear sensitivity correction on said first signal by multiplying said first signal by (one minus a second product), the second product resulting from multiplication of said second signal received from the at least one infrared light detection unit and a second predetermined coefficient factor, the second predetermined coefficient factor being different from the first predetermined coefficient factor.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said visible light detection unit has no means for infrared light filtering.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the infrared light detection unit detects a unit signal of the wavelength region of infrared light and excludes the wavelength region of visible light.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the signal processing unit integrates the unit signal of the wavelength region of infrared light multiple times, and corrects a unit signal detected by the visible light detection unit using the integrated unit signal of the wavelength region of infrared light.

7. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a driving unit for controlling the detection time of the infrared detection unit.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the apparatus comprises a semiconductor device, the semiconductor device comprising having, on a common substrate, the at least one visible light detection unit and the at least one infrared light detection unit.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first detection unit and the second detection unit are disposed periodically with a certain numerical ratio.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first detection unit and the second detection unit are disposed one to one.