Sense amplifier

• US 5,276,407 A
• Filed: 06/18/1992
• Issued: 01/04/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Foveon, Inc. (Avis Budget Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Faggin, Federico, Mead, Carver A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MOTTOLA, STEVEN J
• Application Number:
  US07/900,917
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 330/308, 330/59, 330/110, 330/277, 307/490, 307/494, 307/497, 307/530
• US Class Current: 330/308
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14681 Bipolar transistor imagers

Abstract

A plurality of integrating photosensors is disposed in an array of rows and columns, with a given row select line connected to the gates of P-channel MOS transistors associated with that given row and a given column sense line connected to the drains of the P-channel MOS transistors associated with that given column. A sense amplifier is associated with each column. An integrating sense amplifier according to the present invention includes an amplifying element having an inverting input and a non-inverting input. The non-inverting input is connected to a source of reference voltage the inverting input is connected to a sense line. A P-channel balance transistor is connected between the inverting input and the output of the amplifying element and a capacitor is also connected between the inverting input and output of the amplifying element. A capacitor, preferably a varactor element, is connected between the output and the inverting input of the amplifying element. An exponential feedback element may be provided in the sense amplifiers for signal compression at high light levels.

Claims

1. A charge sense amplifier, including:

an input node;

an output node;

an inverting amplifying element including an input connected to said input node, and an output connected to said output node;

an MOS transistor having its gate connected to said input of said amplifying element and its source and drain connected to said output of said amplifying element.

2. The charge sense amplifier of claim 1, further including means for selectively connecting said output node to said input node.

3. The charge sense amplifier of claim 1 wherein said means for selectively connecting comprises an MOS connecting transistor connected between said input node and said output node, said MOS connecting transistor having its gate connected to a balance input node.

4. The charge sense amplifier of claim 1, wherein said amplifying element further includes a non-inverting input connected to a source of reference voltage.

5. The charge sense amplifier of claim 1, further including means for providing a feedback current to the input of said inverting amplifying element which is an exponential function of the output voltage of said inverting amplifying element.

6. The charge sense amplifier of claim 1, further including an MOS feedback transistor connected as an exponential feedback element between said input and said output of said inverting amplifying element, the gate of said MOS feedback transistor connected to a fixed voltage source having a magnitude selected to set a desired feedback characteristic for said sense amplifier.

13. The charge sense amplifier of claim 1 further including:

a first P-Channel MOS feedback transistor having a source connected to said input node, and a drain and a gate connected together;

a second P-Channel MOS feedback transistor having a gate connected to said output node, a source connected to said drain of said first feedback transistor, and a drain connected to a fixed voltage source.

7. A charge sense amplifier, including:

an input node;

an output node;

an inverting amplifying element including an input connected to said input node, and an output connected to said output node;

a MOS transistor having its gate connected to said output of said amplifying element and its source and drain connected to said input of said amplifying element.

8. The charge sense amplifier of claim 7, further including means for selectively connecting said output node to said input node.

9. The charge sense amplifier of claim 8 wherein said means for selectively connecting comprises an MOS connecting transistor connected between said input node and said output node, said MOS connecting transistor having its gate connected to a balance input node.

10. The charge sense amplifier of claim 7, wherein said amplifying element further includes a non-inverting input connected to a reference voltage.

11. The charge sense amplifier of claim 7, further including means for providing a feedback current to the input of said inverting amplifying element which is an exponential function of the output voltage of said inverting amplifying element.

12. The charge sense amplifier of claim 7, further including an MOS feedback transistor connected as an exponential feedback element between said input and said output of said inverting amplifying element, the gate of said MOS feedback transistor connected to a fixed voltage source having a magnitude selected to set a desired feedback characteristic for said sense amplifier.