Fairchild Imaging, Inc.

Other

Bae Systems Imaging Solutions Inc.

David D Wen

Xinqiao Liu

Steven Onishi

Ahn N Vu

Steve Onishi

Anh N Vu

Charles J Arduini

A light sensor having a light conversion element between first and second electrodes is disclosed. The light conversion element includes a body of semiconductor material having first and second surfaces. The body of semiconductor material is of a first conductivity type and has doping elements in a concentration gradient that creates a first electrostatic field having a magnitude that varies monotonically from the first surface to the second surface. A bias circuit applies a variable potential between the first and second electrodes to create a second electrostatic field having a direction opposite to that of the first electrostatic field and a magnitude determined by the potential. One of the electrodes is transparent to light in a predetermined band of wavelengths. The body of semiconductor material can include an epitaxial body having a monotonically increasing concentration of a doping element as a function of the distance from one the surfaces.

Multi spectral sensor

An imaging array having a CCD imaging array that includes a plurality of pixels that accumulate charge when exposed to light and a readout amplifier is disclosed. The readout amplifier includes an operational amplifier having an input and an output port and a feedback capacitor connecting the input and output ports and a variable impedance path between the input and output ports, the path having an impedance controlled by a reset signal. A reset signal generator generates the reset signal in three sequential phases in which the path between the input and output ports has three impedance values to provide a starting voltage at the amplifier input prior to the measurement of charge from each pixel that has reduced noise.

CCD imaging array with improved charge sensing circuit

An apparatus and a method for synchronizing the velocity of an image of a moving object and the clocking of image sensor elements used to track the moving target. The imaging apparatus includes a two-dimensional array of image sensor elements being configured to sense a first set of image elements in a first direction according to a clock rate. A plurality of rows of image sensor elements are spaced from each other. The rows of image sensor elements are configured to sense a second set of image elements of the target moving in the first direction according to the clock rate. Each row has image sensor elements that are different in length from the image sensor elements of the other rows. A measurement module is coupled with the plurality of rows of image sensor elements to measure the sharpness of detected image elements and to identify the row of image sensor elements having the sharpest detected image elements.

TDI imager with automatic speed optimization

Large area, fast frame rate, charge coupled devices (CCDs) are provided. Interline transfer CCDs can have interleaved pinned photodiodes and vertical shift registers. The interline transfer CCDs are ideal for producing high frame rate video images from a continuous light source. The photodiodes transfer charge indicative of the previous video frame to an adjacent vertical shift register with little or no lag, while light from the current video frame is integrating in the photodiodes. The charge signals only have to travel a short distance from a photodiode to an adjacent vertical shift register. The charge signals indicative of each video frame are then shifted out of the vertical shift registers. Each vertical shift register has a doping gradient that increases the charge transfer rate. All of these factors provide a fast and efficient video frame rate, even in a large area CCD.

Large area, fast frame rate charge coupled device

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an apparatus and a method for synchronizing the velocity of an image of a moving object or target and the clocking of image sensor elements used to track the moving target. In one embodiment, an imaging apparatus comprises a two-dimensional array of image sensor elements being configured to sense a first set of image elements of a target moving in a first direction with respect to the two-dimensional array of image sensor elements, to integrate light from the set of image elements into corresponding pixel values, and to shift the pixel values along the image sensor elements in the first direction according to a clock rate. A row of image sensor elements extends in the first direction to sense a second set of image elements of the target moving in the first direction. A synchronization module is coupled with the row of image sensor elements to measure the velocity of the target moving in the first direction based on a rate of movement of the second set of image elements of the target sensed by the row of image sensor elements, and to synchronize the clock rate of shifting the pixel values along the image sensor elements of the two-dimensional array with the velocity of the image elements of the target moving in the first direction.

TDI imager with target synchronization

A high dynamic range charge collection circuit is described which includes additional electrodes between the photogate and the transfer gate electrode to create charge transfer wells of different depths. The charge-coupled device has a nonlinear relationship between the charge transferred out of the sensing region and the charge generated in the photosite.

Growing community of inventors

Los Altos, CA, United States of America

David D Wen