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.

Date of Patent:
Dec. 27, 2016

Filed:

Feb. 10, 2012
Applicants:

Marie Guillon, Grenoble, FR;

Thierry Ligozat, Quaix en Chartreuse, FR;

Inventors:

Marie Guillon, Grenoble, FR;

Thierry Ligozat, Quaix en Chartreuse, FR;

Assignee:

E2V SEMICONDUCTORS, Saint-Egreve, FR;

Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H04N 3/14 (2006.01); H04N 5/335 (2011.01); H04N 5/374 (2011.01); H04N 5/347 (2011.01); H04N 5/3745 (2011.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H04N 5/3743 (2013.01); H04N 5/347 (2013.01); H04N 5/3745 (2013.01);
Abstract

The invention relates to image sensors of scanner type observing one image line at a time. According to the invention, only two lines of pixels are used, operating in TDI mode (summation of the charge of two pixels seeing the same image point successively) but using active pixels with a charge-voltage conversion within the pixel. The pixels of like rank of the two lines each use a photodiode and a charge storage node with a transfer gate adjacent to the photodiode and to the storage node for transferring the charge accumulated in the photodiode to the charge storage node. The storage node is shared between the two pixels of like rank, and the charge of the two photodiodes is transferred successively into this node before the reading of the potential taken by the node. The time interval which separates the two charge transfers corresponds substantially to the time which separates the transit of an image line past the first line of pixels and then past the second.


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