Image sensor with a spectrum sensor

• US 8,203,635 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
• Original Assignee: Siliconfile Technologies Incorporated (SK Hynix Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Byoung-Su
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Nhan T
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, TUAN H
• Application Number:
  US12/745,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20100271516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: 348 89- 94, 348125-130, 348/163, 348266-283, 348/131, 348135-142, 348/294
• US Class Current: 348/294
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14645 Colour imagers

Abstract

There is provided an image sensor with a spectrum sensor including an image sensor region having a plurality of light-detection parts and a spectrum sensor region located in the image sensor region. The present invention provides an advantage of manufacturing a low-cost image sensor with a spectrum sensor. Thus, the image sensor with a spectrum sensor is commercially available to measure the structure and quantity of an organic material in an object in a simple manner.

Claims

1. An image sensor with a spectrum sensor, comprising:

an image sensor region having a plurality of light-detection parts;

a spectrum sensor region located in the image sensor region; and

an image signal processor analyzing and processing an image which is obtained by the image sensor region and a spectrum signal which is obtained by the spectrum sensor region, the image signal processor being configured to compute a reflection or transmission rate of an object with respect to a band of a band pass filter,

wherein the spectrum sensor region comprises;

a first spectrum sensor region for obtaining a reference signal for checking a current lighting condition; and

a second spectrum sensor region for obtaining a spectrum signal of the object that passed the band pass filter on a light-detection part for the spectrum sensor region.

2. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 1, wherein the image signal processor comprises:

an image reception part receiving the image obtained in the image sensor region;

a reference signal reception part receiving the reference signal from the first spectrum sensor region;

an object spectrum signal reception part receiving from the second spectrum sensor region the spectrum signal of the object; and

a computation part computing the reflection or transmission rate of the object by comparing the spectrum signal of the object with the reference signal.

3. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light-detection parts comprises:

a light-detection part for the image sensor region; and

a light-detection part for the spectrum sensor region.

4. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 3,

wherein the image sensor region further comprises a color filter provided on each of the light-detection parts for the image sensor region.

5. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 3,

wherein the spectrum sensor region further comprises a band pass filter provided on each of the light-detection parts for the spectrum sensor region.

6. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 5, wherein a band width of light wavelength transmitting the band pass filter is 20 nm or less.

7. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 6, wherein band widths of a plurality of band pass filters overlap with each other.

8. The image sensor with the spectrum sensor according to claim 1, wherein each light-detection part is at least one selected from a group including a photodiode, a photo transistor and a photo conductor.