Color and infrared filter array patterns to reduce color aliasing
AssigneeOmniVision Technologies, Inc.
InventorsDonghui Wu, Ping-Hsu Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of a color filter array include a plurality of tiled minimal repeating units, each minimal repeating unit comprising an M×N set of individual filters, and each individual filter in the set having a photoresponse selected from among four different photoresponses. Each minimal repeating unit includes a checkerboard pattern of filters of the first photoresponse, and filters of the second, third, and fourth photoresponses distributed among the checkerboard pattern such that the filters of the second, third, and fourth photoresponses are sequentially symmetric about one or both of a pair of orthogonal axes of the minimal repeating unit.
Claims21
A color filter array comprising:
- a plurality of tiled minimal repeating units, each minimal repeating unit comprising an M×N set of individual filters, and each individual filter in the set having a photoresponse selected from among four different photoresponses, wherein each minimal repeating unit includes:
- a checkerboard pattern of filters of the first photoresponse, wherein the first photoresponse is a visible photoresponse and wherein a checkerboard pattern is one in which alternating filters in the set have the first photoresponse;
- and
- filters of the second, third, and fourth photoresponses distributed among the checkerboard pattern, wherein the first photoresponse is green (G), the second photoresponse is infrared (IR), the third photoresponse is red (R), and the fourth photoresponse is blue (B), and wherein the number of individual filters of the third and fourth photoresponses are equal.
An image sensor comprising:
- a pixel array including a plurality of individual pixels;
- a color filter array positioned over and optically coupled to the pixel array, the color filter array comprising a plurality of tiled minimal repeating units, each minimal repeating unit comprising an M×N set of individual filters, and each individual filter in the set having a photoresponse selected from among four different photoresponses, wherein each minimal repeating unit includes:
- a checkerboard pattern of filters of the first photoresponse, wherein the first photoresponse is a visible photoresponse and wherein a checkerboard pattern is one in which alternating filters in the set have the first photoresponse;
- and
- filters of the second, third, and fourth photoresponses distributed among the checkerboard pattern, wherein the first photoresponse is green (G), the second photoresponse is infrared (IR), the third photoresponse is red (R), and the fourth photoresponse is blue (B), and wherein the number of filters of the third and fourth photoresponses are equal;
- and
- circuitry and logic coupled to the pixel array to read out signals from the individual pixels in the pixel array.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.