Synaptics Corporation

California Institute of Technology

Foveon, Inc.

National Semiconductor Corporation

Sonic Innovations, Inc.

Foveonics, Inc.

Synopsys, Inc.

Silicon Communications Corporation

Carver A Mead

Timothy P Allen

Janeen D Anderson

Christopher J Diorio

Richard Francis Lyon

Federico Faggin

Min-hwa Chi

Michael F Wall

Albert M Bergemont

Richard B Merrill

John C Platt

Bradley A Minch

Paul E Hasler

Tobias Delbruck

Hosam Haggag

Gunter Steinbach

Richard M Turner

John C Wawrzynek

Glenn E Gribble

Douglas M Chabries

Massimo A Sivilotti

Adam K Greenblatt

John LeMoncheck

Eric R Fossum

John D Hyde

Todd E Humes

Rahul Sarpeshkar

Orly Yadid-Pecht

Ralph C Wolf

Peter O Schmidt

Keith L Davis

Glenn Jay Keller

Thomas G Stockham, Jr

Robert S Hannebauer

Benjamin Edward Nise

Jeffrey Orion Pritchard

John Edward Tanner

Xialoing Fang

Michelle A Mahowald

Cecilia Shen

Richard A Lyon

Tzu-Mu Lin

Tobi Delbruck

John Lazzaro

Sylvie Ryckebusch

M A Mahowald

A semiconductor device is provided that uses a floating gate to store analog- and digital-valued information for periods of time measured in milliseconds to hours. Charge is added to and/or removed from the floating gate by means of direct electron tunneling through the surrounding insulator, with the insulator typically being thin enough such that appreciable tunneling occurs with an insulator voltage smaller than the difference in electron affinities between the semiconductor and the insulator and/or between the floating gate and the insulator. The stored information is refreshed or updated as needed. In many applications, the stored information can be refreshed without interrupting normal circuit operation. Adding and removing charge to or from the floating gate may be performed using separate circuit inputs, to tailor the performance and response of the floating-gate device. There is no need to use a control gate in the floating-gate structures disclosed herein.

Pseudo-nonvolatile direct-tunneling floating-gate device

A method for storing a full Red, Green, Blue (RGB) data set. A full RGB data set is three-color image data captured with an imager array formed on a semiconductor substrate and comprising a plurality of vertical-color-filter detector groups. Each of the vertical color detector groups comprises three detector layers each configured to collect photo-generated carriers of a first polarity, separated by intervening reference layers configured to collect and conduct away photo-generated carriers of opposite polarity, the three detector layers being disposed substantially in vertical alignment with respect to one another and having different spectral sensitivities. The three-color image data is then stored as digital data in a digital storage device without performing interpolation on the three-color image data.

Method for storing and retrieving data from an imaging array of vertical-color-filter detector groups

An electronic view camera integrates a camera head assembly and laptop computer into a tripod mountable unified structure. The rigid frame, that unifies the camera head and computer, accommodates a choice of laptop type computers from a variety of different manufacturers. The open front, back and side design of the rigid frame permits ready access for electrical connections and for access to removable storage devices, keyboard, and pointing device. The computer LCD acts as a large screen viewfinder for the camera and has the 'feel' of a professional type view camera rather than the 'feel' of a computer system with a photographic peripheral.

Electronic view camera for tripod mounting

A method for controlling the exposure of an active pixel array electronic still camera includes the steps of: integrating photocurrent in each pixel during an integration time period; collecting overflow charge from all pixels in the array during the integration time period; developing an overflow signal as a function of the overflow charge; and terminating the integration time period when the overflow signal exceeds a preset threshold level selected to represent a desired reference exposure level. Apparatus for performing the method of the present invention includes circuitry for integrating photocurrent in each pixel during a integration time period; circuitry for diverting and detecting overflow charge from all pixels in the array during the integration time period; circuitry for developing an overflow signal as a function of the overflow charge; and circuitry for terminating said integration time period when the overflow signal exceeds a preset threshold level selected to represent a desired reference exposure level.

Exposure control in electronic cameras by detecting overflow from active pixels

An image sensor includes a plurality of active pixel sensors arranged in an array. Each active pixel sensor includes a photosensor that generates a sensor signal nominally indicative of an intensity of light incident on the photosensor and a follower-type amplifier that couples the sensor signal to an output of the active pixel sensor to provide a buffered sensor signal. A column line is provided for each column in the array, and each column line is coupled to the output of the active pixel sensors associated with that column. Row select signal generating circuitry is configured to substantially simultaneously select a set of plural particular rows of the array such that each of the active pixel sensors in the selected set of plural particular rows substantially simultaneously provides the buffered sensor signal for that pixel sensor to the column line for the column to which that pixel sensor belongs such that an output node of the column line indicates a collective output signal for the active pixel sensors in the selected set of plural particular rows, belonging to that column. Column select signal generating circuitry configured to substantially simultaneously select a set of plural particular columns of the array such that the output nodes for the selected plural particular columns are substantially simultaneously coupled to an output node of the image sensor.

Aggregation of active pixel sensor signals

A storage pixel sensor disposed on a semiconductor substrate comprises a capacitive storage element having a first terminal connected to a fixed potential and a second terminal. A photodiode has an anode connected to a first potential and a cathode. A semiconductor reset switch has a first terminal connected to the cathode and a second terminal connected to a reset potential. A semiconductor transfer switch has a first terminal connected to the cathode and a second terminal connected to the second terminal of the capacitive storage element. A semiconductor amplifier has an input connected to the capacitive storage element and an output. The semiconductor reset switch and the semiconductor transfer switch each have a control element connected to a control circuit for selectively activating the semiconductor reset switch and the semiconductor transfer switch. A light shield is disposed over portions of the semiconductor substrate comprising a circuit node including the second terminal of the semiconductor transfer switch, the second terminal of the capacitive storage element and the input of the semiconductor amplifier and to prevent substantially all photons from entering the circuit node. Structures are present for preventing substantially all minority carriers generated in the semiconductor substrate from entering the circuit node. A plurality of storage pixel sensors are disposed in an array.

Intra-pixel frame storage element, array, and electronic shutter method suitable for electronic still camera applications

A method for storing digital information from an image sensor comprises the steps of providing an image sensor producing three-color output data at each of a plurality of pixel locations; providing a digital storage device coupled to the image sensor; sensing three-color digital output data from the image sensor; and storing said three-color output data as digital data in the digital storage device without performing any interpolation on the three-color output data. The data may be compressed prior to storage and expanded after retrieval from storage. In a preferred embodiment, the image sensor comprises a triple-junction active pixel sensor array.

Method for storing and retrieving digital image data from an imaging array

Efficient photographic flash

A focusing method and apparatus, for use with digital cameras having an electronic viewfinder with less display resolution than in the image generated by the camera's photocell array, uses a uniformly subsampled representation of the entire image for focusing, rather than displaying a selected portion of the higher resolution image. The focusing is assisted by the exaggerated discontinuities produced by subsampling. Introducing flicker enhances focusing sensitivity by repetitively displaying, on the electronic viewfinder, a prescribed set of different reduced-resolution images obtained by subsampling the same high-resolution image at different sampling locations. Each subsampled image of the set of reduced resolution images uses a different set of substantially uniformly distributed pixels.

Focusing method and apparatus for high resolution digital cameras

A method for attaching imagers to color-separation prisms includes the steps of: arranging three solid-state array image sensor integrated circuits behind and in close proximity to the output faces of a color-separating prism having substantially equal optical path lengths for the three paths, the three solid-state array image sensor integrated circuits each having a solid-state array image sensor and bonding pads for electrical connections disposed on a top face thereof; aligning the three sensors such that the images traversing the three paths are coincident within a pixel dimension of the image sensors; filling the space between each output face of the prism and the top face of the corresponding image sensor with index-matched adhesive; and causing the index-matched adhesive to become rigid while maintaining the alignment of the three image sensors.

Color separation prisms having solid-state imagers mounted thereon and camera employing same

An integrated CMOS semiconductor imaging device having two modes of operation that can be performed simultaneously to produce an output image and provide information of a brightest or darkest pixel in the image.

Active pixel image sensor with a winner-take-all mode of operation

A pMOS EEPROM cell includes a source, drain, channel, control gate and well contact. The device is a fully functional single element p-type floating gate MOSFET. A floating gate overlaps the well contact and completely surrounds the drain and source implants. The pMOS cell is written to by means of hot-electron injection, using an intrinsic feedback mechanism to write analog values. Hot electrons are generated in the channel by means of hole impact ionization at the transistor's drain. The pMOS cell is erased by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. The tunneling voltage is applied only to the well to tunnel electrons from the floating gate. The well-source and well-drain junctions are protected from breakdown by means of guard rings.

pMos analog EEPROM cell

pMOS EEPROM non-volatile data storage

Growing community of inventors

Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Carver A Mead