Fraunhofer-gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.v.

Thomson Licensing

Volkswagen Ag

Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.V.

Deutsche Thomson-brandt Gmbh

Werner Brockherde

Bedrich J Hosticka

Olaf Schrey

Maik Beer

Michael Schanz

Armin Kemna

Daniel Durini Romero

Alexander Schwinger

Wiebke Ulfig

Hartmut Richter

Josef Lauter

Holger Hofmann

Ingo Hehemann

Juergen Huppertz

Christian Nitta

Arndt Bussmann

Markus Schwarz

David Arutinov

Andreas Suess

Ralf Hausschild

Andreas Spickermann

Amer Aslam

Ralf Jeremias

A laser measuring set for measuring a distance from an object includes a pulse laser for emitting a laser pulse at the beginning of a measuring cycle; an optical sensor having at least one detection unit for generating detection signals; a coincidence recognition stage for generating coincidence signals, wherein during the measuring cycle, one of the coincidence signals is generated each time the detection signals generated by the detection unit reach at least a preset coincidence depth within a coincidence time; a coincidence time presetting stage for presetting the coincidence time for the coincidence recognition stage, the coincidence time presetting stage being configured such that the coincidence time monotonically increases during the measuring cycle; and travel-time measuring set for determining the distance on the basis of a travel-time measurement of the coincidence signals.

Laser measuring means for measuring a distance from an object, and method of operating same

Described are a device for determining a distance to an object, having a transmitting device for emitting signals, a receiving device for receiving signals and for generating detection signals, an evaluating device for evaluating the detection signals of the receiving device, and a control device for controlling the evaluation of the detection signals, and a corresponding method. The receiving device has a plurality of receiving elements which generate, in case they receive a signal, a detection signal each. The evaluating device determines the distance to the object in accordance with the time-of-flight method and while considering coincidence events and uses that case in which a number of detection signals generated within a presettable coincidence time at least equals a presettable coincidence depth, as a coincidence events. The control device is configured to determine, starting from a background radiation measurement, a new value for the coincidence time and/or, if applicable, the coincidence depth and preset same for the evaluating device, wherein, in a background radiation measurement, the receiving device receives signals and generates background radiation detection signals.

Device for determining a distance to an object and corresponding method

The invention relates to a device for determining a distance from an object, including a transmission device for emitting several light pulses including a pulse duration, including a reception device for receiving signals and for generating detection signals, and including an evaluation device for evaluating the detection signals. The evaluation device determines, on the basis of a number of the light pulses emitted and on the basis of the detection signals, probability values of several time windows which each have a respective time period equaling the pulse duration which relate to probabilities for reception of a signal within one of the time windows, respectively. In addition, the evaluation device determines, in accordance with the time-of-flight method, a measure of the distance of the object on the basis of the probability values determined. In addition, the invention relates to a corresponding method.

Device for determining a distance from an object, and corresponding method

The present invention describes an optical distance measuring device having a pulsed radiation source that is implemented to transmit, in a temporally contiguous radiation pulse period, a radiation pulse having a pulse duration tthat is shorter than the radiation pulse period, and to transmit no radiation pulse in a temporally contiguous dark period. Further, the optical distance measuring device includes a detector for detecting different amounts of radiation in two overlapping detection periods during the radiation pulse period to capture reflections of the radiation pulse at an object surface and a background radiation and/or in two overlapping detection periods during the dark period to capture background radiation. The optical distance measuring device further includes an evaluator determining a signal depending on a distance of the optical distance measuring device to an object based on the detected amount of radiation. Further, the present invention provides a method for optical distance measurement and for multiple sampling.

Optical distance measuring device and method for optical distance measurement

A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, a photosensitive zone configured such that photogenerated charges may be accumulated in a first potential well, a region of the first conductivity type, formed in the semiconductor layer, for temporarily storing the photogenerated charges in a second potential well, a transfer gate between the region of the second conductivity type and the photosensitive zone for defining a potential barrier between the first and second potential wells during a non-transfer phase, and for eliminating the potential barrier between the first and second potential wells during a transfer phase, and a readout structure for reading out the temporarily stored photogenerated charges, which includes a JFET, the gate of which is formed by the region of the second conductivity type.

Semiconductor structure, method of operating same, and production method

The present invention relates to a concept for optical distance measurement, wherein a radiation pulse is emitted in the direction of an object of measurement. At least two different transfer gates which couple a photoactive region to at least two different evaluating capacities are driven during different drive intervals so that charge carriers generated during the drive intervals by a radiation pulse reflected from the object of measurement and/or by ambient radiation can be transported from the photoactive region to the evaluating capacities each coupled to the at least two transfer gates. Another transfer gate is driven during a time outside the drive intervals of the at least two transfer gates to connect the photoactive region to a reference potential terminal acting as a charge carrier sink during the time outside the drive intervals of the at least two transfer gates.

Concept for optical distance measurement

A time-of-flight 3D imaging system comprising a detector for detecting electromagnetic radiation is constructed so that the detector includes a semiconductor substrate of a first doping type, and a well in the semiconductor substrate, the well being of a second doping type. The first doping type and the second doping type are different and the well has an increasing dopant concentration in a direction parallel to a surface of the semiconductor substrate. In addition, the detector includes a detector terminal doping region which is arranged at least partly in the well in a terminal region of the well. The detection of electromagnetic radiation is based on a generation of free charge carriers by the electromagnetic radiation in a detection region of the well. The detection region has a maximum dopant concentration which is lower than a maximum dopant concentration of the terminal region of the well.

Time-of-flight 3D imaging system comprising a detector for detecting electromagnetic radiation

A detector for detecting electromagnetic radiation includes a semiconductor substrate of a first doping type, and a well in the semiconductor substrate, the well being of a second doping type. The first doping type and the second doping type are different and the well has an increasing dopant concentration in a direction parallel to a surface of the semiconductor substrate. In addition, the detector includes a detector terminal doping region which is arranged at least partly in the well in a terminal region of the well. The detection of electromagnetic radiation is based on a generation of free charge carriers by the electromagnetic radiation in a detection region of the well. The detection region has a maximum dopant concentration which is lower than a maximum dopant concentration of the terminal region of the well.

Detector for detecting electromagnetic radiation having dopant concentration of a well increases monotonically in the direction parallel to the surface of a semiconductor substrate

An image sensor includes a plurality of image elements configured to provide associated image element signals which are dependent on light intensities incident on the image elements. The image sensor includes an accumulation circuit with a plurality of charge storage elements, wherein the accumulation circuit is configured to change charges on the charge storage elements during a phase in dependence on image element signals of respectively associated image elements. The accumulation circuit is further configured to change an association between charge storage elements and associated image elements in successive phases, so that in operation, a charge on one of the charge storage elements depends on image element signals of plural image elements in a plurality of phases.

Image sensor, method for operating an image sensor, and computer program using a time-delayed integration

The central idea of the present invention is that a readout result of an optical detection unit which is based on accumulating photocharges can be improved when the charge carriers accumulated on a photodiode capacitance can be transferred to a readout capacitance before being read out by a readout unit, and when the state of the readout capacitance can be read out in a non-destructive manner by the readout unit, so that a noise portion in the readout signal can be corrected by reading out the readout capacitance during charge accumulation and again reading out the readout capacitance after the end of charge accumulation. Additionally, it becomes possible by the transfer to the readout capacitance to vary the sensitivity of the optical detection device within broad limits and to record a sequence of successive light pulses, without having to reset a photodiode before recording every single light pulse.

Detection of optical radiation using a photodiode structure

The central idea of the present invention is that the resetting of the energy store associated with the receiver prior to every detection interval and/or prior to every exposure period, during which the energy stored in the energy store is to be changed in accordance with the output signal of the receiver so as to use the state of the energy store following the reception interval as information about the object may be avoided by setting the sensitivity of the receiver, which determines the level of the output signal at a specified electromagnetic radiation, higher in at least one instance, and lower in at least one instance between two resetting events, or by varying the sensitivity. The noise contribution provided by the resetting operations is hereby avoided, which is why the benefit of the accumulation and/or integration may be exploited across several reception intervals without this noise contribution.

Device for detecting electromagnetic radiation

A device for reading out image data of a sub-range of an image captured by an image sensor is described, the image sensor including a plurality of image sensor elements which can be read out by an activation signal sequentially appliable to same according to a predetermined clock signal, wherein the image sensor elements outputting the image data for the sub-range can be determined by means of an activation pattern. The device comprises a plurality of branch blocks connected in series storing the activation pattern, wherein each of the branch blocks, depending on the activation pattern, applies the activation signal received to one or several image sensor elements associated with a branch block or passes same on to a subsequent branch block or a terminating element. The activation pattern is stored in the branch blocks substantially simultaneously to the activation signal. No delay or latency times, respectively, occur in the sensor readout.

Method and device for reading out image data of a sub-range of an image

In a method for imaging, a plurality of image sensor elements is used, which generate different output signal values when using different exposure times. For each image sensor element, an image signal value is generated by generating a first output signal value when using a first exposure time and an associated second output signal value using a second exposure time. If the first output signal value does not exceed a threshold value associated thereto, the image signal value is calculated using a first calculating rule on the basis of the first output signal value. If the first output signal value exceeds the threshold value, the image signal value is calculated using at least a second calculating rule on the basis of at least the second output signal value. By the calculating rules, the first and second output signal values are shifted relative to each other and adjusted such that no detectable discontinuity occurs between an image signal value still calculated according to the first calculating rule and an image signal value already calculated according to the second calculating rule.

Method and device for imaging using several exposure times

An indirect detection of the reflected radiation pulses, when measuring a distance by means of the photoeffect, allows considerably expanding the usability of the distance sensor and the distance measuring method, wherein the adaption to a new field of application only requires little design changes. Since in the external photoeffect the photoelectrons are ejected from the material irradiated photon by photon or quantum by quantum and the photons, when being ejected, only require a certain minimum energy and correspondingly the radiation used for irradiation only requires a sufficiently small wavelength, the external photoeffect allows detecting radiation over a large spectral range. When interferences occur in a certain wavelength range in a certain field of application, the operating wavelength range of the distance sensor technology may at first simply be set to another spectral range by using such an irradiation source having a spectrum outside the spectral range containing the interferences.

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Duisburg, Germany

Werner Brockherde