DEVICE AND METHOD FOR READING ELECTRIC CURRENTS RESULTING FROM AN ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNAL DETECTOR

• US 20100090681A1
• Filed: 09/28/2009
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Societe Francaise de Detecteurs Infrarouges-Sofradir
• Original Assignee: Societe Francaise de Detecteurs Infrarouges-Sofradir
• Inventors: SANSON, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,217,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/111
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/46 using a capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array

Abstract

A device for reading electric currents including a capacitive element to integrate the current, the terminals of the capacitive element being connected to the mass and to an output branch of the device respectively, and a differential pair including: a first transistor mounted between the input branch of the input stage and the capacitive element, the transistor being controlled by a polarized impulse voltage, capable of putting the first transistor alternately into the off state and then into the on state; and a second transistor mounted between the input branch of the input stage and a potential other than that of the capacitive element, said transistor also being controlled by a polarized impulse voltage, capable of putting the second transistor alternately into the off state and then into the on state, wherein the second transistor is mounted in phase opposition relative to the first transistor.

Claims

1. A device for reading electric currents received on an input branch, and particularly those coming from elementary sensors of a matrix device for detecting electromagnetic radiation, comprising a capacitive element intended to integrate the current, the terminals of said capacitive element being connected to the mass and to an output branch of said device respectively, wherein it further comprises a differential pair consisting of:

a first transistor mounted between the input branch and the capacitive element, said transistor being controlled by a polarized impulse voltage capable of putting said first transistor alternately into the off state and then into the on state, on state wherein said first transistor is intended to set the potential of the input branch and to supply the capacitive element with the currents for reading;

a second transistor mounted between the input branch and a potential other than that of the capacitive element, said transistor also being controlled by a polarized impulse voltage capable of putting said second transistor alternately into the off state and then into the on state, on state wherein said second transistor is intended to keep the input branch at a constant potential in time other than that of the capacitive element and to drain the charges received on the input branch elsewhere than into the capacitive element, and said second transistor being controlled in phase opposition relative to the first transistor.

2. The device for reading electric currents as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transistors are CMOS, or bipolar, transistors, the transistors being n-type or p-type.

3. The device for reading electric currents as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input branch is connected to an elementary sensor forming part of an assembly of elementary sensors arranged in a line or in a matrix.

4. A method for reading electric currents, such as those coming from elementary sensors of a matrix device for detecting electromagnetic radiation, wherein it implements a device as claimed in one of the previous claims and in that it comprises the following step sequence:

generating a first voltage pulse (V_pol1), preferably in the form of a square pulse, using the polarized impulse voltage source (V_pol1;

V_pol2);

putting the first transistor into the on state in order to inject a current for reading capable of charging the capacitive element, while the second transistor is put into the off state;

generating a second pulse (V_pol2) in phase opposition with said first pulse (V_pol1), preferably in the form of a square pulse, using the polarized impulse voltage source (V_pol1, V_pol2);

putting the second transistor into the on state in order to keep the input branch at a constant potential, while the first transistor is put into the off state, the capacitive element then being read across the output branch sequentially.

5. The method for reading electric currents as claimed in claim 4, wherein it comprises repeating said step sequence in order to obtain a plurality of phases of integrating current into the capacitive element, the phases during which the first transistor is put into the off state and the second transistor is put into the on state allowing the evacuation of the charges received on the input branch by the second transistor in order to read the total amount of the integrated charges as well as the intermediate charge build-ups.

6. A method for reading electric currents as claimed in claim 4, wherein the amplitudes of the first and second pulses are selected in such a way that a transistor put into the off state is on the verge of triggering the on state.