# US 12,192,654 B2 · Image sensors and sensing methods to obtain time-of-flight and phase detection information

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- Number: US 12,192,654 B2
- Document ID: US12192654B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/644,152
- Filed: 2024-04-24
- Published: 2024-08-15
- Granted: 2025-01-07
- Earliest claimed: 2020-07-15
- Assignees: Corephotonics Ltd.
- Applicants: Corephotonics Ltd.
- Inventors: Nadav Geva; Michael Scherer; Ephraim Goldenberg; Gal Shabtay
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12192654B2

## CPC

- H04N 13/232: using fly-eye lenses, e.g. arrangements of circular lenses
- H04N 25/705: Pixels for depth measurement, e.g. RGBZ
- G01S 7/4816: {of receivers alone}
- G01S 17/894: Three-dimensional [3D] imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a two-dimensional [2D] array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
- G06T 7/593: from stereo images
- H04N 13/128: Adjusting depth or disparity
- H04N 13/207: using a single two-dimensional [2D] image sensor
- H04N 13/254: in combination with electromagnetic radiation sources for illuminating objects
- H04N 13/271: wherein the generated image signals comprise depth maps or disparity maps
- H04N 25/75: Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
- H04N 13/122: Improving the three-dimensional [3D] impression of stereoscopic images by modifying image signal contents, e.g. by filtering or adding monoscopic depth cues (H04N13/128 takes precedence)
- H04N 2013/0081: {Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals}
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL

## Abstract

Indirect time-of-flight (i-ToF) image sensor pixels, i-ToF image sensors including such pixels, stereo cameras including such image sensors, and sensing methods to obtain i-ToF detection and phase detection information using such image sensors and stereo cameras. An i-ToF image sensor pixel may comprise a plurality of sub-pixels, each sub-pixel including a photodiode, a single microlens covering the plurality of sub-pixels and a read-out circuit for extracting i-ToF phase signals of each sub-pixel individually.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An image sensor pixel, comprising:
a plurality of sub-pixels;
a microlens covering the plurality of sub-pixels; and
a read-out circuit configured for reading out the plurality of sub-pixels and for providing time-of-flight (ToF) information, wherein the image sensor pixel is operational in a first state and in a second state, wherein in the first state the plurality of sub-pixels form together one pixel and the circuit reads out the one pixel, and wherein in the second state the circuit reads out each sub-pixel individually.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein in the first state, the read out of the one pixel is used for generating a ToF depth map.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein in the second state, the individual read out of the plurality of sub-pixels is used for generating a stereo depth map.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sub-pixels includes 2 sub-pixels.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sub-pixels includes 4 sub-pixels.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein the image sensor pixel is a direct ToF (d-ToF) image sensor pixel.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein the image sensor pixel is an indirect ToF (i-ToF) image sensor pixel.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, included in an image sensor of a camera having a focal length f in the range of 1.5 mm-10 mm.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, included in an image sensor of a stereo camera having a baseline B in the range of 0.5 mm-25 mm.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, included in an image sensor of a stereo camera having a baseline B in the range of 0.5 mm-10 mm.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein each sub-pixel has a size of 1 μm-10 μm.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, included in an image sensor of a stereo camera that has a vertical or a horizontal baseline.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein the image sensor pixel is included in an image sensor of a depth camera, and wherein the depth camera is included in a mobile device.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The image sensor pixel of claim 13, wherein the mobile device is a smartphone.

### Claim 15

A method, comprising:
providing an image sensor pixel that includes a plurality of sub-pixels, wherein the plurality of sub-pixels is covered by a microlens; and
configuring a read-out circuit for reading out the plurality of sub-pixels and for providing time-of-flight (ToF) information,
wherein the image sensor pixel is operational in a first state and in a second state,
wherein in the first state the plurality of sub-pixels form together one pixel and the configuring of the circuit includes configuring the circuit to read out the one pixel, and
wherein in the second state the configuring of the circuit includes configuring the circuit to read out each sub-pixel individually.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, further comprising, in the first state, using the read out of the one pixel for generating a ToF depth map, and, in the second state, using the individual read out of the plurality of sub-pixels for generating a stereo depth map.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising analyzing the stereo depth map and the ToF depth map for assigning stereo scores to segments of the stereo depth map and for assigning ToF scores to the segments of the ToF depth map.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, further comprising generating a fused depth map by using stereo depth map data for segments that have high stereo scores and using ToF depth map data for segments that have high ToF scores.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the image sensor pixel is a direct ToF (d-ToF) image sensor pixel.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the image sensor pixel is an indirect ToF (i-ToF) image sensor pixel.

### Claim 21 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the image sensor pixel is included in a image sensor of a stereo camera, and wherein the stereo camera is included in a mobile device.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The method of claim 21, wherein the mobile device is a smartphone.