Optical sensor
AssigneeHamamatsu Photonics K.K.
InventorsYasuhiro Suzuki, Seiichiro Mizuno
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention aims at providing a photodetector capable of fast operation with inclusion of A/D converting circuits. With a photodetector 1, (K×M×N) photodiodes PDk,m,n are arranged in M rows and (K×N) columns in a photodetection unit 10, and processes (electric charge accumulation, CDS, filtering, and A/D conversion) regarding each of the (K×N) photodiodes PDk,m,n (k=1 to K, n=1 to N) of each row are carried out successively at each time T. Meanwhile, each of an electric charge accumulation operation in an integrating circuit 20m,n, a CDS operation in a CDS 30m,n, a filterng operation in a filter circuit 40m,n, and an A/D conversion oepration in an A/D converter 50m,n, is carried out at each time N×T).
Claims3
A photodetector comrising:
- (K×M×N) photodiodes PDk,m,n (K being an integer of no less than 2;
- k being integers of no less than 1 and no more than K, M being an integerof no less than 1;
- m being integers of no less than 1 and no more than M;
- N being an integer of no less than 2;
- and n being integers of no less than 1 and no more than N), each generating an electric charge by an amount corresponding to an intensity of light incident thereon;
- (M×N) tegrting circuits, one of each being provided in correspondence to K photodiodes PDk,m,n (k=1 to K) among the (K×M×N) photodiodes PDk,m,n and each successively inputting and accumulating the electric charges generated at the K photodiodes PDk,m,n (k=1 to K) and outputting a voltage that is in accordance with the amount of the accumulated electric charges;
- and
- A/D converting circuits, each A/D converting circuit being provided in correspondence to one of said (M×N) integrating circuits, and ouputting a digital value according to the voltage outputted from the corresponding integrating circuit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.