Bae Systems Imaging Solutions Inc.

Fairchild Imaging, Inc.

Loral Fairchild Corporation

Steven Onishi

Xinqiao Liu

David D Wen

Ahn N Vu

Boyd Fowler

Michel Sayag

Anh N Vu

Charles J Arduini

A camera adapted for taking pictures of a moving scene is disclosed. The camera includes an imaging array, a plurality of charge-coupled device (CCD) shift registers, and a controller. The imaging array includes a plurality of CMOS pixel sensors organized as a plurality of columns and rows. The image moves in the column direction. One CCD shift register corresponds to each of the columns. Each CMOS pixel sensor includes a first transfer gate that transfers charge accumulated in the pixel sensor to a corresponding cell in the CCD shift register. The controller controls the CCD shift registers such that charge stored in a first cell in a CCD shift register is moved to a second cell in the CCD shift register where the charge is combined with charge accumulated by the pixel sensor that is connected to the second cell, the combined charge being generated from the same image pixel.

Hybrid CCD&#x2014;CMOS camera adapted for forming images of moving scenes

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

A solid state image sensor CCD array (10a) has a two block, full-frame, parallel-register structure. The two blocks of the array, each comprised of photosensitive radiation sensors or pixels (20), feed into a single centrally disposed serial read-out register (10b) so as to form one unified photosensitive domain. The read-out register is photosensitive except for two associated narrow clock buses (H1, H2) that are spaced apart so as to only block a minimum of input radiation in any one pixel (22) of the read-out register. Each stage of the read-out register can act as a pixel that is approximately square and that is approximately the same size as the pixels of the two full-frame blocks. In operation, the centrally disposed read-out register can be stationary for a significant first portion of a total frame time (integration period), and then in a latter part of the frame time it can be read out one or more times to provide exposure update information for all of the pixels of the array. Typical examples of applications include advanced histogram-based, or other types of, X-ray exposure optimization. The array avoids the use of an 'amplifier corner' that is characteristic of most if not all area image sensors. As such, all four corners of the array can be shaped to suit a particular application. One application of particular interest is for intra-oral dental X-ray imager and system.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Steven Onishi