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US 12,273,642 B2Granted
Dual-mode column amplifier
AssigneeFairchild Imaging
InventorsHung Trong Do, Khai Nguyen, Stephen W. Mims, Alexander Lu, Kwang Bo Cho, Angel Rogelio Lopez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Examples include an image sensor comprising a pixel array having at least one column of addressable pixel sensors, and a column amplifier coupled to the at least one column of addressable pixel sensors, the column amplifier comprising a transistor bank including a plurality of transistors, and mode select circuitry coupled to the transistor bank and configured to establish one or more connections among the plurality of transistors to configure the column amplifier to operate in one of a differential mode of operation and a single-ended mode of operation.
Claims18
An image sensor comprising:
- a pixel array having at least one column of addressable pixel sensors;
- and
- a column amplifier coupled to the at least one column of addressable pixel sensors, the column amplifier comprising a transistor bank including a plurality of transistors, and mode select circuitry coupled to the transistor bank and configured to establish one or more connections among the plurality of transistors to configure the column amplifier to operate in one of a differential mode of operation and a single-ended mode of operation;
- wherein the mode select circuitry comprises a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches including a first subset of switches and a second subset of switches, the second subset of switches being logical complements of the first subset of switches;
- and
- wherein when the first subset of switches are in a closed position and the second subset of switches are in an open position, the column amplifier is configured into the differential mode of operation, and when the first subset of switches are in the open position and the second subset of switches are in the closed position, the column amplifier is configured into the single-ended mode of operation.
3 more elements
A column amplifier circuit comprising:
- a first transistor coupled between a voltage supply terminal and a first node, the first transistor having a first control terminal coupled to a first input terminal;
- a second transistor coupled between an output terminal and the first node, the second transistor having a second control terminal coupled to a second input terminal;
- a third transistor coupled between the voltage supply terminal and the first transistor, the third transistor having a third control terminal;
- a fourth transistor coupled between the output terminal and the second transistor, the fourth transistor having a fourth control terminal coupled to the third control terminal of the third transistor;
- a fifth transistor coupled between the first node and a ground terminal, the fifth transistor having a fifth control terminal;
- and
- switching circuitry including
- a first switch that selectively couples the first input terminal to the second input terminal,
- a second switch that selectively couples together a second node positioned between the first and third transistors and a third node positioned between the second transistor and the fourth transistor,
- a third switch that selectively couples the third transistor to the output terminal,
- a fourth switch that selectively couples the first node to the ground terminal, and
- a first switching device that selectively couples the fifth control terminal of the fifth transistor between a first bias voltage terminal and the ground terminal.
9 more elements
A column amplifier circuit comprising:
- a first transistor having a first control terminal switchably coupled to one of a first bias voltage terminal and a ground terminal;
- a first transistor chain coupled between a voltage supply terminal and a first node, the first transistor chain including a second transistor coupled to first node, and a plurality of first chain transistors coupled between the second transistor and the voltage supply terminal, wherein the second transistor has a has a second control terminal coupled to a first input terminal;
- a first switch configured to selectively couple the first node to the ground terminal;
- and
- a second transistor chain coupled between the voltage supply terminal and the first node, the second transistor chain including a third transistor coupled between the first node and an output terminal, and a plurality of second chain transistors coupled between the third transistor and the voltage supply terminal,
- wherein the third transistor has a third control terminal coupled to a second input terminal that is switchably coupled to the first input terminal,
- wherein each first chain transistor of the plurality of first chain transistors has a control terminal connected to a control terminal of a respective second chain transistor of the plurality of second chain transistors, and
- wherein the plurality of first chain transistors and the plurality of second chain transistors are switchably coupled together in pairs.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.