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. 01, 2016
Filed:
Aug. 20, 2014
Semiconductor Components Industries, Llc, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Jeffery Beck, Philomath, OR (US);
Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Abstract
An image sensor having image sensor pixels operable in multiple gain modes is provided. An image sensor pixel may include a photodiode, a charge transfer transistor, a reset transistor, a source follower (SF) transistor, a row select transistor, and a capacitor that is directly connected across the gate terminal and a selected source-drain terminal of the SF transistor. The SF transistor and the row select transistor may be selectively coupled to a power supply line and a column output line by asserting either a first control signal or a second control signal. The first control signal is asserted to place the pixel in a low conversion gain mode, whereas the second control signal is asserted to place the pixel in a high conversion gain mode. The charge transfer transistor may always be activated during the low conversion gain mode and may be selectively activated during the high conversion gain mode.