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:
Mar. 08, 2005
Filed:
Mar. 20, 2002
Richard M. Turner, Mountain View, CA (US);
Richard F. Lyon, Los Altos, CA (US);
Rudolph J. Guttosch, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Richard B. Merrill, Woodside, CA (US);
Richard M. Turner, Mountain View, CA (US);
Richard F. Lyon, Los Altos, CA (US);
Rudolph J. Guttosch, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Richard B. Merrill, Woodside, CA (US);
Foveon, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A vertical color detector group according to the present invention is formed on a semiconductor substrate and includes layers for collecting photons of different wavelength bands. The color detector group can be programmed to perform dynamic switching between sub-sampled color data and full measured color readout. The color detector group can also be configured in a portion of an array to emulate color filter array patterns, and programmed to dynamically alter the degree to which color information is sub-sampled. The programmable color detector groups can allow for switching between different levels of quality and resolution, allowing for selection of an optimal pattern based on image content or lighting conditions. By combining the color detector group of the present invention with conventional color filters, color filter arrays of more than three colors can be constructed.