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:
Nov. 25, 2003
Filed:
Jan. 31, 2001
Falko Busse, Aachen, DE;
Michael Overdick, Langerwehe, DE;
Walter Rütten, Kinnich, DE;
Gerard Francis Harkin, Eindhoven, NL;
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Eindhoven, NL;
Abstract
The invention relates to a sensor and a method of operating a sensor with includes a plurality of sensor elements ( ), each of which includes a radiation-sensitive conversion element ( ) which generates an electric signal in dependence on the incident radiation, and also with means ( to ) for amplifying the electric signal in each sensor element ( ) and a read-out switching element ( ) in each sensor element ( ) which is connected to a read-out line ( ) in order to read-out the electric signal. In order to provide a sensor in which a high stability of the transfer function and a favorable signal-to-noise ratio are ensured while maintaining a comparatively simple and economical construction, the means for amplifying include a respective source follower transistor ( ) whose gate is connected to the conversion element ( ), whose source is connected on the one side to an active load ( ) and on the other side to one side of a sampling capacitor ( ), the other side of the sampling capacitor ( ) being connected to the read-out line ( ) via the read-out switching element ( ), a respective reset element ( ) being connected to the conversion element ( ) so as to reset the conversion element ( ) to an initial state.