Intel Corporation

Kevin M Connolly

James E Breisch

Mark A Beiley

Akira Kakizawa

Jung S Kang

Berni W Landau

Tonia G Morris

Cory E Weber

Shaofeng Yu

David B Fraser

Edward John Bawolek

Zong-Fu Li

Joseph W Parks, Jr

Stephen Bradford Gospe

Jon M Dhuse

Jack S Uppal

Jean-Charles Korta

Curtis A Corum

Larry A Booth, Jr

Cyrus M Afghahi

An imager includes an array of pixel sensors. Each pixel sensor indicates at least two different primary color components of an image. For each pixel sensor, at least two storage locations are located in the array and store the indications from the pixel sensor.

Imager having multiple storage locations for each pixel sensor

A method of fabricating an image sensor having pin photodiodes residing vertically atop underlying CMOS control circuitry. In the preferred technique, pin photodiodes fabricated in amorphous silicon are utilized.

Method of fabricating image sensors using a thin film photodiode above active CMOS circuitry

An imaging system includes an array of pixel sensors and a mode control circuit. The array of pixel sensors is adapted to furnish logarithmically encoded indications of light intensities during a first mode and furnish linearly encoded indications of the light intensities during a second mode. The mode control circuit is adapted to selectively place the array in one of the first and second modes. The imaging system may include more than one array, and the mode control circuit may configure one of the arrays. The imaging system may include a camera, for example, that includes the array(s) and mode control circuit.

Imaging system having multiple image capture modes

A single-chip digital camera system is described. In one embodiment, the single-chip digital camera system includes a sensor array including rows and columns of discrete sensor elements, corresponding analog-to-digital converters to convert analog values into digital data, a storage element coupled to the analog-to-digital converters, to store the digital data, and a plurality of arithmetic logic units coupled to the storage element, to operate on the digital data. The digital camera system also includes a switching matrix Which is coupled between the array of analog-to-digital converters and the memory element. The switching matrix spatially rotates the analog-to-digital converter outputs for storing such outputs in the memory element.

Method and apparatus for providing a single-instruction multiple data digital camera system that integrates on-chip sensing and parallel processing

An image sensor having pin photodiodes residing vertically atop underlying CMOS control circuitry. In the preferred technique, pin photodiodes fabricated in amorphous silicon are utilized.

Image sensor using a thin film photodiode above active CMOS circuitry

A pixel structure of an image sensor, the pixel structure for providing sensor signals in response to incident light is provided. The pixel structure includes light selective elements, the light selective elements having predetermined thicknesses to absorb only light having wavelengths corresponding to the visible region of the light spectrum.

Infrared filterless pixel structure

What is disclosed is an apparatus for reducing row reset noise in photodiode based complementary metal oxide (CMOS) sensors. The apparatus uses at least one reference pixel for each row of pixels in a sensor array. Also, a reset noise elimination unit is provided to adjust the values received from the pixels in a particular row by an adjustment value determined from the reset values received from the reference pixels. Additionally, a method of using the apparatus is disclosed. The method has a step of providing a first reset signal to a row of pixels including the reference pixels. The method also reads out a first set of values from this row after integration. The method continues with providing a second reset signal to the row and a second set of values is read from the row. An adjustment value is calculated from the difference of the values which are read out from the reference pixels.

Imaging system having a sensor array reset noise reduction mechanism

Leakage current may be reduced in trench isolated semiconductor devices by providing a buffer between the trench isolation and an active area. For example, with a trench isolated photodiode, a buffer of opposite conductivity type may be provided between the trench and the diffusion that forms the p-n junction of the photodiode.

Reduced leakage trench isolation

Leakage current may be reduced in trench isolated semiconductor devices by providing a buffer between the trench isolation and an active area For example, with a trench isolated photodiode, a buffer of opposite conductivity type may be provided between the trench and the diffusion that forms the p-n junction of the photodiode.

A photosensitive element may be formed by an upper layer which is sensitive to visible light and a lower layer which is sensitive to infrared radiation. By making the upper device infrared transparent, the upper device can detect visible light while the lower device detects infrared radiation in one single detector. In some embodiments a plurality of pixels may be provided, only some of which contain both the first and second layers.

Method of making infrared and visible light detector

Detecting infrared and visible light

Method and apparatus to reduce row reset noise in photodiode

A method of adjusting a portion of a dark frame in accordance with compensation values related to dark reference pixels of a picture frame to obtain an adjusted dark frame portion, and then subtracting the adjusted dark frame portion from a corresponding picture frame portion. The technique may be used to improve the accuracy of image sensors such as those used in digital cameras or video conferencing cameras by compensating for dark current noise. The technique may be applied to both CMOS image sensors and, in general, to any image sensors requiring dark frame subtraction. The techniques may also be used in conjunction with calibration of image sensors and imaging systems.

Growing community of inventors

Chandler, AZ, United States of America

Kevin M Connolly