PHYSICAL INFORMATION ACQUISITION METHOD, PHYSICAL INFORMATION ACQUISITION DEVICE, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

• US 20070201738A1
• Filed: 07/20/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 7,755,016 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/144
• 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 device uses a device including a detection unit for detecting electromagnetic waves, and a unit signal generating unit for generating and outputting the corresponding unit signal based on the amount of electromagnetic waves detected by the detection unit for detecting a physical quantity distribution in which the unit components are disposed on the same substrate in a predetermined sequence, for acquiring physical information for a predetermined application based on the unit signal. The physical information acquisition device includes a first detection unit which detects first wavelength region components following second wavelength region components different from the first wavelength region components being separated from the first wavelength region components beforehand; a second detection unit which detects wavelength region components for correction including at least the second wavelength region components; and a signal processing unit for obtaining physical information relating to the first wavelength region components from which at least a part of influence of the second wavelength region components is eliminated using the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and the unit signal detected by the second detection unit.

Claims

1. A physical information acquisition method, which uses a device of which unit components include

detection units for detecting electromagnetic waves and

a unit signal generating unit for generating and outputting the corresponding unit signal based on the amount of electromagnetic waves detected by the detection unit for detecting a physical quantity distribution in which the unit components are disposed on the same substrate in a predetermined sequence, for acquiring physical information for a predetermined application based on the unit signal;

wherein a first of the detection units detects first wavelength region components following second wavelength region components different from the first wavelength region components being separated from the first wavelength region components beforehand, and also a second of the detection units detects wavelength region components for correction including at least the second wavelength region components;

and wherein physical information relating to the first wavelength region components from which at least a part of influence of the second wavelength region components is eliminated is obtained using the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and the unit signal detected by the second detection unit.

2. The physical information acquisition method according to claim 1, wherein the correction is performed by subtracting signal components obtained by multiplying the unit signal detected by the second detection unit by a predetermined coefficient from the unit signal detected by the first detection unit.

3. The physical information acquisition method according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength region components for correction include no the first wavelength region components.

4. The physical information acquisition method according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength region components for correction include the first wavelength region components;

and wherein a unit signal made up of the second wavelength region components with at least a part of the first wavelength region components being eliminated is obtained using the unit signal detected by the first detection unit based on the wavelength region components for correction;

and wherein the unit signal detected by the first detection unit is subjected to the correction using the unit signal of the second wavelength region following correction.

5. The physical information acquisition method according to claim 1, wherein the unit signal detected by the first detection unit is subjected to first the correction using one the unit signal of wavelength region for correction to be detected by the second detection unit including no the first wavelength region components,

and also wherein the unit signal of the second wavelength region components with at least a part of the first wavelength components being eliminated is obtained by using the unit signal of the other the wavelength components for correction to be detected by the second detection unit including the first wavelength region components, and the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and following this correction the unit signal detected by the first detection unit is subjected to second the correction using the unit signal of the second wavelength region.

6. A physical information acquisition device, which uses a device of which unit components include

a detection unit for detecting electromagnetic waves and

a unit signal generating unit for generating and outputting the corresponding unit signal based on the amount of electromagnetic waves detected by the detection unit for detecting a physical quantity distribution in which the unit components are disposed on the same substrate in a predetermined sequence, for acquiring physical information for a predetermined application based on the unit signal, the physical information acquisition device comprising:

a first detection unit for detecting first wavelength region components following second wavelength region components different from the first wavelength region components being separated from the first wavelength region components beforehand;

a second detection unit for detecting wavelength region components for correction including at least the second wavelength region components; and

a signal processing unit for obtaining physical information relating to the first wavelength region components from which at least a part of influence of the second wavelength region components is eliminated using the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and the unit signal detected by the second detection unit.

8. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the signal processing unit performs the correction by subtracting signal components obtained by multiplying the unit signal detected by the second detection unit by a predetermined coefficient from the unit signal detected by the first detection unit.

9. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 8, wherein the signal processing unit performs the correction by adding nonlinear signal components multiplied by a predetermined coefficient to the product between the unit signal detected by the second detection unit and the unit signal detected by the first detection unit.

10. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the second detection unit detects the unit signal of the wavelength region components for correction including no the first wavelength region components.

11. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the second detection unit detects the unit signal of the wavelength region components for correction including the first wavelength region components;

and wherein the signal processing unit obtains the unit signal of the second wavelength region components with at least a part of the first wavelength components being eliminated using the unit signal of the wavelength components for correction to be detected by the second detection unit, and the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and following this correction the unit signal detected by the first detection unit is subjected to the correction using the unit signal of the second wavelength region.

12. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the second detection unit includes a first detection unit for detecting the unit signal of the wavelength region components for correction including no the first wavelength region components, and a second detection unit for detecting the unit signal of the wavelength region components for correction including the first wavelength region components;

and wherein the signal processing unit subjects the unit signal detected by the first detection unit is subjected to first the correction using one the unit signal of wavelength region for correction to be detected by the second detection unit including no the first wavelength region components, and also obtains the unit signal of the second wavelength region components with at least a part of the first wavelength components being eliminated using the unit signal of the other the wavelength components for correction to be detected by the second detection unit including the first wavelength region components to correction, and the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and following this correction subjects the unit signal detected by the first detection unit to second the correction using the unit signal of the second wavelength region.

13. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 6 or claim 7, further comprising a driving unit for controlling the detection time of the second detection unit.

14. The physical information acquisition device according to claim 6 or claim 7, the signal processing unit integrates the unit signal of the wavelength region components for correction to be detected by the second detection unit multiple times, following this integration subjects the unit signal detected by the first detection unit to the correction using the unit signal of the second wavelength region.

7. A physical information acquisition device, which uses a device of which unit components include

a detection unit for detecting electromagnetic waves, and

a unit signal generating unit for generating and outputting the corresponding unit signal based on the amount of electromagnetic waves detected by the detection unit for detecting a physical quantity distribution in which the unit components are disposed on the same substrate in a predetermined sequence, said physical information acquisition device comprising:

a first detection unit for detecting first wavelength region components following second wavelength region components different from the first wavelength region components being separated from the first wavelength region components beforehand;

a second detection unit for detecting wavelength region components for correction including at least the second wavelength region components, for acquiring physical information for a predetermined application based on the unit signal; and

a signal processing unit for obtaining physical information relating to the first wavelength region components from which at least a part of influence of the second wavelength region components is eliminated using the unit signal detected by the first detection unit, and the unit signal detected by the second detection unit.

15. A semiconductor device, which is a device of which unit components include

a detection unit for detecting electromagnetic waves and

a unit signal generating unit for generating and outputting the corresponding unit signal based on the amount of electromagnetic waves detected by the detection unit, for detecting a physical quantity distribution in which the unit components are disposed on the same substrate in a predetermined sequence, the semiconductor device comprising on the same substrate:

a first detection unit for detecting first wavelength region components following second wavelength region components different from the first wavelength region components being separated from the first wavelength region components beforehand; and

a second detection unit for detecting wavelength region components for correction including at least the second wavelength region components.

16. The semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the first detection unit and the second detection unit are disposed periodically with a certain numerical ratio.

17. The semiconductor device according to claim 16, wherein a single the second detection unit is disposed as to a plurality of the first detection unit.

18. The semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the first detection unit and the second detection unit are disposed one to one.

19. The semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the first detection unit is made up of a combination of a plurality of detection elements for detecting the first wavelength region components by subjecting the first wavelength region components to further wavelength separation;

and wherein the plurality of detection elements of the first detection unit and the second detection unit are disposed in a two-dimensional lattice shape, and also are disposed so as to detect the wavelength components to be detected within the plurality of detection elements in a checkered pattern.

20. The semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the first detection unit is made up of a combination of a plurality of detection elements for detecting the first wavelength region components by subjecting the first wavelength region components to further wavelength separation;

and wherein the plurality of detection elements of the first detection unit and the second detection unit are disposed in a two-dimensional lattice shape, and also are disposed so as to detect the second detection unit in a checkered pattern.