Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Orit Skorka

Radu Ispasoiu

Brian A Vaartstra

Paul James Kane

Richard Scott Johnson

Anthony Richard Huggett

Salman Kabir

David Wayne Jasinski

Barry Vanhoff

Grady Anderson

Image sensors, imaging systems, and methods for eliminating blooming artifacts in high dynamic range imaging. The image sensor includes a pixel array and a controller. The controller is configured to detect that a first pixel signal is at or below a barrier value. The first pixel signal is generated during a first exposure. The controller is also configured to compare neighboring pixel signals to the barrier value. The controller is further configured to determine a first image value for the center pixel based on a second pixel signal when at least one of the neighboring pixel signals is above the barrier value. The second pixel signal is generated during a second exposure that is shorter than the first exposure. The controller is also configured to set the first image value to the first pixel signal when each of the neighboring pixel signals is at or below the barrier value.

Blooming artifact elimination in high dynamic range imaging

An imaging system may include an electronic shutter. The electronic shutter may be positioned between an image sensor and a lens module or may be integrated as a package cover for the image sensor. The electronic shutter may selectively attenuate incident light that passes to the image sensor. To increase the dynamic range of the imaging system, the electronic shutter may have a first transparency while a first image is captured by the image sensor and a second, different transparency while a second image is captured by the image sensor. The first and second images are subsequently combined to form a single high dynamic range image. The electronic shutter may be controlled at a global level, at a sub-array level, or at a pixel level.

Imaging system with an electronic shutter

An imaging device may have an array of image pixels that includes red, green, blue, and infrared pixels. The imaging device may include a dual-band filter that allows transmission of light in the visible band and in the near-infrared band and may include color processing circuitry that produces a color image with marked infrared regions. The color processing circuitry may include a standard color processing pipeline with a color correction matrix that produces a tone-mapped standard red, green, and blue image and may include infrared marking circuitry. The infrared marking circuitry may include hue angle determination circuitry, cell means determination circuitry, and near-infrared determination circuitry that determine portions of the image with high infrared reflectance to be marked. The infrared-marked tone-mapped standard red, green, and blue image may be output to a machine vision system to identify objects in the imaged scene with high infrared reflection.

Imaging systems for multi-spectral imaging

Imaging systems may include tunable polarization filters. A tunable polarization filter may be integrated directly into an image sensor package. For example, the tunable polarization filter may serve as cover glass for the image sensor package. Tunable polarization package glass may be incorporated into image sensor packages that have air gaps between the image sensor and the cover glass or that have transparent adhesive between the image sensor and the cover glass. The tunable polarization layer may be controlled at a global level, at a sub-array level, or at a pixel level. In some cases, the tunable polarization layer may be a tunable polarization filter. In this example, the direction of the polarization filter is tuned. In other cases, the tunable polarization layer may be a tunable polarization rotator. In this example, the tunable polarization layer selectively rotates the polarization of light that passes through the tunable polarization layer.

Image sensor packages with tunable polarization layers

Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and systems image sensors. The methods and systems may comprise selectively activating either high or low conversion gain mode for a predetermined number of rows by comparing pixel row data to predetermined threshold values prior to image signal processing.

Methods and apparatus for an images sensor with row-level gain control

An image sensor with an array of pixels is provided. In order to achieve high image quality, it may be desirable to improve well capacity of individual pixels within the array by forming deep photodiodes in a thick substrate. When forming the array of pixels, conductive contacts may be formed in a back surface of the substrate opposing ground contacts located on a front side of the substrate. A conductive grid layer may be formed over the conductive contacts. A color filter layer may be formed over the conductive grid layer that may include a barrier grid in which color filter material is deposited. The conductive grid layer and conductive contacts may be biased to a voltage to improve the strength of electric fields in the substrate. Conductive contacts will thereby improve charge collection and electrical isolation and prevent electrical crosstalk and blooming.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Orit Skorka