Thermal imaging pixel, thermal imaging sensor, and bolometer
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsJinmyoung Kim, Byonggwon Song, Jangwoo You, Duhyun Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermal imaging pixel, including a variable resistor array; and a pixel readout circuit configured to read electrical signals corresponding to a composite resistance of the variable resistor array, wherein the variable resistor array includes a plurality of variable resistor subarrays electrically connected in series, wherein each variable resistor subarray of the plurality of variable resistor subarrays includes a plurality of variable resistor cells electrically connected in parallel, and wherein each variable resistor cell of the plurality of variable resistor cells has a resistance which changes according to temperature.
Claims20
A thermal imaging pixel comprising:
- a variable resistor array;
- and
- a pixel readout circuit configured to read electrical signals corresponding to a composite resistance of the variable resistor array,
- wherein the variable resistor array comprises a plurality of variable resistor subarrays electrically connected in series,
- wherein each variable resistor subarray of the plurality of variable resistor subarrays comprises a plurality of variable resistor cells electrically connected in parallel,
- wherein each variable resistor cell of the plurality of variable resistor cells has a resistance which changes according to a temperature change,
- wherein each variable resistor cell comprises a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) having a random telegraph noise (RTN) characteristic in which a parallel (P) state and an antiparallel (AP) state are determined probabilistically according to a temperature change,
- wherein a resistance in the P state is different from a resistance in the AP state, and
- wherein the thermal imaging pixel does not require a reset operation to set the MTJ into either the P state or the AP state.
A thermal imaging sensor comprising:
- a thermal imaging pixel comprising a variable resistor array;
- and
- a readout circuit configured to read electrical signals corresponding to an average of a composite resistance of the variable resistor array over time;
- wherein the variable resistor array comprises a plurality of variable resistor subarrays electrically connected in series,
- wherein each of the plurality of variable resistor subarrays comprises a plurality of variable resistor cells electrically connected in parallel,
- wherein each variable resistor cell of the plurality of variable resistor cells has a resistance which changes according to a temperature change,
- wherein each variable resistor cell comprises a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) having a random telegraph noise (RTN) characteristic in which a parallel (P) state and an antiparallel (AP) state are determined probabilistically according to a temperature change,
- wherein a resistance in the P state is different from a resistance in the AP state, and
- wherein the thermal imaging pixel does not require a reset operation to set the MTJ into either the P state or the AP state.
A bolometer comprising:
- a variable resistor array comprising a plurality of variable resistor subarrays electrically connected in series,
- wherein each variable resistor subarray of the plurality of variable resistor subarrays includes a plurality of variable resistor cells electrically connected in parallel,
- wherein each variable resistor cell of the plurality of variable resistor cells has a resistance which changes according to a temperature change,
- wherein each variable resistor cell comprises a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) having a random telegraph noise (RTN) characteristic in which a parallel (P) state and an antiparallel (AP) state are determined probabilistically according to a temperature change,
- wherein a resistance in the P state is different from a resistance in the AP state, and
- wherein the thermal imaging pixel does not require a reset operation to set the MTJ into either the P state or the AP state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.