CMOS sensor array with a memory interface

An image sensor, comprising:

• a pixel array, including a two-dimensional array of pixel elements, that outputs analog signals as pixel data representing an image of a scene;
• an analog-to-digital converter coupled to said pixel array for converting said analog signals into digital pixel data;
• a data memory coupled to said analog-to-digital converter and fabricated with said pixel array and said analog-to-digital converter on a same integrated chip, said data memory for storing said pixel data;
• and
• a logic circuit coupled to said data memory and fabricated with said data memory on said same integrated chip, said logic circuit providing a memory interface for exporting said pixel data.

An image sensor, comprising:

• a pixel array, including a two-dimensional array of pixel elements, that outputs analog signals as pixel data representing an image of a scene;
• a data memory coupled to said pixel array and fabricated with said pixel array on a same integrated chip, said data memory for storing said pixel data;
• and
• a logic circuit coupled to said data memory and fabricated with said data memory on said same integrated chip, said logic circuit providing a memory interface for exporting said pixel data.

An imaging system, comprising:

• an image sensor, comprising:
• a sensor array, including a two-dimensional array of pixel elements, that outputs digital signals as pixel data representing an image of a scene;
• a data memory coupled to said sensor array and fabricated with said sensor array on a same integrated chip, said data memory for storing said pixel data;
• a logic circuit coupled to said data memory and fabricated with said data memory on said same integrated chip, said logic circuit providing a memory interface for exporting said pixel data;
• and
• an image processing device including a memory interface port;
• wherein said image sensor is coupled to said memory interface port of said image processing device and said image processing device accesses pixel data in said image sensor using a memory interface protocol.

A method in an image sensor, comprising:

• capturing an image of a scene using a sensor array;
• storing pixel data representative of said images in a data memory being fabricated on a same integrated circuit as said sensor array;
• and
• outputting said pixel data to an image processing device using a memory interface protocol.