The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 11, 2026
Filed:
Jun. 27, 2024
Fairchild Imaging, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Hung T. Do, San Jose, CA (US);
Stephen W. Mims, San Diego, CA (US);
Khai Nguyen, Stockton, CA (US);
Paul G. Lim, San Jose, CA (US);
FAIRCHILD IMAGING, INC., Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A given pixel of a pixel array is controlled to switch between operation modes to reduce dark current during charge transfer. The charge may be transferred from a sensing node at a gate terminal of a source follower. In an example, a mode select block is used to change the power voltage level applied to a terminal of the source follower prior to or during the charge transfer process. The mode select block includes a switch coupled between a power supply terminal and the source follower transistor and a reference transistor coupled between the power supply terminal and the source follower transistor. By activating the switch in the mode select block, the power delivered to the source follower can be reduced prior to or during the charge transfer process, which can pull down the voltage at the sensing node and reduce the dark current in the pixel.