Active pixel image sensor with shared amplifier read-out
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorRobert M. Guidash
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in a series of row and columns comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of pixels formed in rows and columns with at least two row adjacent pixels and at least two column adjacent pixels formed within the substrate; and at least one electrical function integrated within the adjacent pixels that is shared between the adjacent pixels. The electrical function can be either a contact region or an electrical circuit used in implementing either a photogate, a transfer gate, a reset gate, a row select gate, an amplifier drain, an output node, a floating diffusion contact, a reset drain, a lateral overflow gate, an overflow drain or an amplifier.
Claims19
An image sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in a series of rows and columns comprising:
- a semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;
- at least two row adjacent pixels and at least two column adjacent pixels formed within the substrate;
- and
- at least one shared contact region wherein the contact region is shared between the adjacent pixels and wherein the shared contact is selected from one of the following components (a photogate contact, a reset gate contact, a row select gate contact, an amplifier drain contact, an output node contact, a floating diffusion contact, a reset drain contact, a lateral overflow gate contact, or an amplifier contact).
An image sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns comprising:
- a row select signal that is operative to concurrently select two row adjacent pixels and a row select bus that is operative for the two row adjacent pixels;
- a column output bus operative for two column adjacent pixels;
- a separate transfer gate for each of the pixels;
- and
- a separate transfer gate bus for every other pixel within a given row.
An image sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns arranged on a semiconductor substrate comprising:
- at least two row adjacent pixels and at least two column adjacent pixels each having a photodetector formed within the substrate;
- transfer gate provided for each pixel, the transfer gate being connected to a sense node.
An image sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in a series of rows and columns comprising:
- a semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;
- at least two row adjacent pixels and at least two column adjacent pixels formed within the substrate;
- and
- at least one electrical component that is shared between the adjacent pixels wherein the electrical component is selected from one of the following components (a reset transistor, a row select transistor, an amplifier drain, an output node, a floating diffusion, a lateral overflow gate, or an amplifier).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.