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. 18, 1998
Filed:
Mar. 20, 1996
Rudolph H Dyck, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Loral Fairchild Corp., Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A multiple-frame image sensor comprising a full-frame CCD sensor of two-story construction having an overlying photosensitive layer that converts input radiation to electric charge and an underlying CCD structure which functions to collect and store the charge for read-out of more than one charge packet per pixel, with the pixels being of minimum size. The sensor structure is rendered capable of handling more than one photosignal charge packet per pixel in an area-efficient way through the use of ripple clocking, so that in a preferred embodiment a 4-poly, 7-phase ripple-clocked vertical CCD register is fabricated with 7 gates, one of which is run vertically to create openings, e.g., between the 1 and 6 gates, that pass electrode contacts to N+ sources in the channel stops of the register to form photosignal charge packets in the region between the stops. The ripple-gating controls the movement of the charge packets for storage along the CCD channel until 3 charge packet read-out. In this two-story embodiment, there is no mixing of signal charge from the several exposures. Other embodiments involving 3- and 2-poly designs, MPP barriers, and 5-phase ripple-clocking and 6-electrode non-ripple clocking are described.