Imaging sensor and method for color night vision
First Claim
1. An imaging sensor for low light level color imaging, comprising:
- an array of pixels, each of the pixels comprising;
a first pixel portion that has a first photosensitive area and is responsive to light in a panchromatic spectral range, wherein the panchromatic spectral range includes visible light and near infrared light;
a second pixel portion that has a second photosensitive area and is responsive to light in a sub-band spectral range, the first photosensitive area being greater than the second photosensitive area and the sub-band spectral range being narrower than and contained within the panchromatic spectral rangea readout node;
at least one first transfer transistor in communication with the first pixel portion and the readout node; and
at least one second transfer transistor in communication with the second pixel portion and the readout node, wherein the at least one first transfer transistor is configured to transfer charge from the first pixel portion to the readout node for a panchromatic image and wherein the at least one second transfer transistor is configured to transfer charge from the second pixel portion to the readout node for a sub-band image.
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Abstract
An imaging sensor for low light level color imaging includes an array of pixels. Each pixel has a first pixel portion that has a first photosensitive area and is responsive to light in a panchromatic spectral range and a second pixel portion that has a second photosensitive area and is responsive to light in a sub-band spectral range. The first photosensitive area is greater than the second photosensitive area and the sub-band spectral range is narrower than and contained within the panchromatic spectral range. The first and second pixel portions of each pixel are independently addressable. The imaging sensor is beneficial for applications requiring wide dynamic range, low light sensitivity and color discrimination, and enables improved object discrimination and scene interpretation.
20 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An imaging sensor for low light level color imaging, comprising:
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an array of pixels, each of the pixels comprising; a first pixel portion that has a first photosensitive area and is responsive to light in a panchromatic spectral range, wherein the panchromatic spectral range includes visible light and near infrared light; a second pixel portion that has a second photosensitive area and is responsive to light in a sub-band spectral range, the first photosensitive area being greater than the second photosensitive area and the sub-band spectral range being narrower than and contained within the panchromatic spectral range a readout node; at least one first transfer transistor in communication with the first pixel portion and the readout node; and at least one second transfer transistor in communication with the second pixel portion and the readout node, wherein the at least one first transfer transistor is configured to transfer charge from the first pixel portion to the readout node for a panchromatic image and wherein the at least one second transfer transistor is configured to transfer charge from the second pixel portion to the readout node for a sub-band image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for low light level color imaging, the method comprising:
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for each pixel in an array of pixels in an imaging sensor, wherein each pixel comprises a first pixel portion responsive to light in a panchromatic spectral range, wherein the panchromatic spectral range includes visible light and near infrared light, a second pixel portion and a readout node connected to the first pixel portion via at least one first transfer transistor and connected to the second pixel portion via at least one second transfer transistor, wherein the first pixel portion has a photosensitive area that is greater than a photosensitive area of the second pixel portion, filtering light incident on the second pixel portion so that only light in a sub-band spectral range that is narrower than and contained within the panchromatic spectral range is incident on the photosensitive area of the second pixel portion; reading panchromatic image data for an image formed on the array of pixels, wherein reading the panchromatic image data comprises disabling the second transfer transistors and enabling the first transfer transistors to transfer charge to the readout nodes; and reading sub-band image data for the image formed on the array of pixels, wherein reading the sub-band image data comprises disabling the first transfer transistors and enabling the second transfer transistors to transfer charge to the readout nodes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification