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US 2021/0265401 A1Published application
Global shutter image sensor
AssigneeFacebook Technologies, LLC
InventorsXinqiao LIU, Song CHEN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In one example, a method comprises: within an integration period: enabling a photodiode of a pixel cell to accumulate charge responsive to incident light, and transferring the charge from the photodiode to a charge storage device of the pixel cell. The method further comprises: performing, using a sampling capacitor, a sample-and-hold operation to convert the charge stored in the charge storage device into a voltage; and generating a digital output based on the voltage to represent an intensity of the incident light received by the photodiode.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- within an integration period:
- enabling a photodiode of a pixel cell to accumulate charge responsive to incident light, and
- transferring the charge from the photodiode to a charge storage device of the pixel cell;
- performing, using a sampling capacitor, a sample-and-hold operation to convert the charge stored in the charge storage device into a voltage;
- and
- generating a digital output based on the voltage to represent an intensity of the incident light received by the photodiode.
3 more elements
A method comprising:
- within an integration period:
- enabling a first photodiode to accumulate a first charge responsive to incident light;
- transferring the first charge from the first photodiode to a first charge storage device;
- enabling a second photodiode to accumulate a second charge responsive to the incident light;
- and
- transferring the second charge from the second photodiode to a second charge storage device;
- performing, using a first sampling capacitor, a first sample-and-hold operation to convert the first charge stored in the first charge storage device into a first voltage;
- performing, using a second sampling capacitor, a second sample-and-hold operation to convert the second charge stored in the second charge storage device into a second voltage;
- generating a first digital output based on the first voltage to represent an intensity of the incident light received by the first photodiode;
- storing the first digital output at a memory;
- reading the first digital output from the memory;
- generating a second digital output based on the second voltage to represent an intensity of the incident light received by the second photodiode;
- and
- after the first digital output is read from the memory, storing the second digital output at the memory.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.