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US 11,778,342 B2Granted
Solid-state image pickup element, image pickup apparatus, and method of controlling solid-state image pickup element
AssigneeSony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
InventorsTomohiro Yamazaki, Yoshinori Muramatsu, Shigetaka Kudo, Kazuhiko Muraoka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Image quality is to be improved in a solid-state image pickup element that performs time delay integration. A correlated double sampling circuit generates a frame in which a predetermined number of lines each including a plurality of digital signals are arranged. A TDI frame memory retains a (K−1)-th frame generated before a K-th frame. A time delay integration circuit performs time delay integration processing of adding the line having a predetermined address in the K-th frame and the line having an address at a certain distance from the predetermined address in the (K−1)-th frame.
Claims16
An imaging device comprising:
- a first substrate including a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, a respective pixel of the plurality of pixels configured to output a pixel signal;
- and
- a second substrate stacked with the first substrate, the second substrate including:
- at least a portion of analog to digital circuitry configured to output a digital signal based on the pixel signal,
- arithmetic circuitry configured to receive the digital signal,
- first memory circuitry coupled to the arithmetic circuitry,
- second memory circuitry coupled to the arithmetic circuitry, and
- image processing circuitry coupled to the second memory circuitry;
- wherein the arithmetic circuitry includes column correlated double sampling (CDS) processing circuitry and column time delay integration (TDI) arithmetic circuitry.
6 more elements
An imaging device, comprising:
- a first substrate including a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, a respective pixel of the plurality of pixels configured to output a pixel signal;
- and
- a second substrate stacked with the first substrate, the second substrate including:
- at least a portion of analog to digital circuitry configured to output a digital signal based on the pixel signal,
- arithmetic circuitry configured to receive the digital signal,
- first memory circuitry coupled to the arithmetic circuitry,
- second memory circuitry coupled to the arithmetic circuitry, and
- image processing circuitry coupled to the second memory circuitry;
- wherein
- a frame of digital signal includes a first phase level and a second phase level, and the first memory circuitry is configured to store the first phase level,
- the arithmetic circuitry is configured to acquire a difference between the second phase level and the first phase level, and to store the difference in the first memory circuitry,
- the image processing circuitry is configured to perform a first image processing on the difference, and
- the arithmetic circuitry is configured to, after the image processing circuitry performs the first image processing, acquire a sum of a predetermined first line of the frame and a second line of the frame adjacent to the first line of the frame, and store the sum in the second memory circuitry.
10 more elements
A method for use in an imaging device, the method comprising:
- outputting a pixel signal from a respective pixel of a plurality of pixels that are arranged in a matrix;
- outputting a digital signal from analog to digital circuitry, the digital signal being based on the pixel signal;
- receiving the digital signal by arithmetic circuitry, wherein the imaging device comprises a first substrate including the plurality of pixels, and a second substrate stacked with the first substrate and including at least a portion of the analog to digital circuitry, the arithmetic circuitry, first memory circuitry, second memory circuitry, and image processing circuitry, and a frame of digital signal includes a first phase level and a second phase level;
- storing the first phase level in the first memory circuitry;
- acquiring, by the arithmetic circuitry, a difference between the second phase level and the first phase level;
- storing the difference in the first memory circuitry;
- performing, by the image processing circuitry, a first image processing on the difference;
- acquiring, by the arithmetic circuitry and after the performing the first image processing, a sum of a predetermined first line of the frame and a second line of the frame adjacent to the first line of the frame;
- and
- storing, by the arithmetic circuitry, the sum in the second memory circuitry.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.