Electronic color snapshot technique and structure using very high resolution monochrome full frame CCD imagers

A method for producing images using a monochrome charge-coupled device, the monochrome charge-coupled device comprising a plurality of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells being controlled by gate electrodes, the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells being configured in an array comprising vertical columns and horizontal rows, the method comprising the steps of:

• exposing the monochrome charge-coupled device to a first portion of an image, thereby generating first charge packets in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells;
• moving said first charge packets stored in a first set of horizontal rows of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells into a second set of horizontal rows of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, said first charge packets remaining in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells for subsequent exposures;
• exposing the monochrome charge-coupled device to a second portion of the image, thereby generating second charge packets in the array;
• moving said second charge packets stored in a third set of horizontal rows of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells into a fourth set of horizontal rows of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, said second charge packets remaining in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells for subsequent exposures, said second charge packets being combined in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a predetermined manner with said first charge packets;
• and
• exposing the monochrome charge-coupled device to a third portion of the image, thereby generating third charge packets in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, selected ones of the third charge packets comprising charge from more than one horizontal row and from more than one exposure stored in a single horizontal row.

A monochrome charge-coupled device, comprising:

• a plurality of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells configured in an array having vertical columns and horizontal rows, each photosensitive semiconductor storage cell having a potential profile;
• a plurality of gate electrodes coupled to the plurality of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells for controlling the potential profiles of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells;
• and
• a plurality of independently controllable clock lines coupled to the plurality of gate electrodes for supplying clocking signals to the gate electrodes, the clock lines comprising a plurality of mutually exclusive sets of clock lines, each set of clock lines for controlling the potential profiles of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a subset of the horizontal rows, each of every three adjacent horizontal rows being controlled by a different one of the sets of clock lines.

A monochrome charge-coupled device for producing color images using a sequential color illumination scheme, the monochrome charge-coupled device comprising:

• a plurality of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells being configured in an array having vertical columns and horizontal rows;
• a plurality of gate electrodes, each photosensitive semiconductor storage cell comprising three gate electrodes, the gate electrodes controlling vertical potential profiles of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells;
• a first set of clock lines, the first set of clock lines conducting a first set of clock signals, the first set of clock signals comprising three distinct clock signals, and being connected to the gate electrodes of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a first set of horizontal rows;
• a second set of clock lines, the second set of clock lines conducting a second set of clock signals, the second set of clock signals comprising three distinct clock signals, and being connected to the gate electrodes of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a second set of horizontal rows;
• and
• a third set of clock lines, the third set of clock lines conducting a third set of clock signals, the third set of clock signals comprising three distinct clock signals, and being connected to the gate electrodes of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a third set of horizontal rows;
• wherein each of every three adjacent horizontal rows is coupled to and controlled by a different one of the first, second, and third sets of clock lines.

A camera for producing color images comprising:

• a microcomputer for controlling the operation of the camera;
• a monochrome charge-coupled device further comprising:
• a plurality of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells being configured in an array having vertical columns and horizontal rows;
• a plurality of gate electrodes, each semiconductor storage cell comprising three gate electrodes, the gate electrodes controlling vertical potential profiles of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells;
• a first set of clock lines, the first set of clock lines conducting a first set of clock signals, the first set of clock signals comprising three distinct clock signals, and being connected to the gate electrodes of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a first set of horizontal rows;
• a second set of clock lines, the second set of clock lines conducting a second set of clock signals, the second set of clock signals comprising three distinct clock signals, and being connected to the gate electrodes of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a second set of horizontal rows;
• a third set of clock lines, the third set of clock lines conducting a third set of clock signals, the third set of clock signals comprising three distinct clock signals, and being connected to the gate electrodes of the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a third set of horizontal rows;
• wherein each of every three adjacent horizontal rows is coupled to and controlled by a different one of the first, second, and third sets of clock lines;
• and
• an illumination means;
• an exposure means for sequentially exposing the charge-coupled device to a plurality of color portions of an image;
• and
• a horizontal charge-coupled device register for downloading stored image information from the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells.

A method for producing images using a monochrome charge-coupled device, the monochrome charge-coupled device comprising a plurality of photosensitive storage regions, each photosensitive storage region comprising first and second photosensitive subregions, the method comprising the steps of:

• exposing the photosensitive storage regions to electromagnetic energy thereby generating first charge in the first and second subregions of each photosensitive storage region;
• moving the first charge in selected photosensitive storage regions from the second subregion into the first subregion;
• exposing the photosensitive storage regions to electromagnetic energy thereby generating second charge in the first and second subregions of each photosensitive storage region, the second charge combining with the first charge in the first subregion;
• and
• reading out the first and second charge from the photosensitive storage regions.

A method for producing multiple images without intervening readout periods using a monochrome charge-coupled device, the monochrome charge-coupled device comprising a plurality of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells being controlled by gate electrodes, the photosensitive semiconductor storage cells being configured in an array comprising vertical columns and horizontal rows, the method comprising the steps of:

• exposing the monochrome charge-coupled device to a portion of an image, thereby generating charge packets in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells;
• moving said charge packets stored in a first set of horizontal rows of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells into a second set of horizontal rows of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, said charge packets remaining in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells for subsequent exposures;
• where the total number of portions of the image to which the charge-coupled device is exposed exceeds two, repeating said exposing and moving steps for each exposure in excess of two, charge packets from each successive exposure being combined in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells in a predetermined manner with charge packets from previous exposures;
• exposing the monochrome charge-coupled device to a final portion of the image, thereby generating final charge packets in the array of photosensitive semiconductor storage cells, selected ones of the final charge packets comprising charge from more than one horizontal row and from more than one exposure stored in a single horizontal row;
• and
• processing the final charge packets to determine each of the multiple images.