Noise analysis of the ramp reference voltage and its projection at the output of a conventional single-slope ramp analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is presented. This paper gives insight on the reference voltage noise...
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Noise analysis of the ramp reference voltage and its projection at the output of a conventional single-slope ramp analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is presented. This paper gives insight on the reference voltage noise origins during the continuous-time ramping phase of column-parallel cmos image sensor ADCs, as well as its effect on the final ADC output noise. Theoretical modeling of an occurring random walk noise on continuous-time-based ramp references is presented first. Noise on the ramp does not directly add to the output noise of the ADC, but it is modulated and projected subject to given ramp rise time conditions. Test measurements show that the signal-dependent output noise is consistent with the rate of noise increase by the proposed random walk noise model.
We propose a cmos image sensor with time-division multiplexing pixel architecture using standard pinned-photodiode for capturing 2-D color image as well as extracting 3-D depth information of a target object. The prop...
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We propose a cmos image sensor with time-division multiplexing pixel architecture using standard pinned-photodiode for capturing 2-D color image as well as extracting 3-D depth information of a target object. The proposed pixel can alternately provide both color and depth images in each frame. Two split photodiode and four transfer gates in each pixel improve the transfer speed of generated electrons to be capable of demodulating a high-frequency time-of-flight signal. In addition, four-shared pixel architecture acquires a color image with high spatial resolution and generates a reliable depth map by inherent binning operation in charge domain. A 712 x 496 pixel array has been fabricated using a 0.11-mu m standard cmos imaging process and fully characterized. A 6-mu m pixel with 34.5% aperture ratio can be operated at 10-MHz modulation frequency with 70% demodulation contrast. We have successfully captured both images of exactly same scene from the fabricated test chip. It shows a depth uncertainty of less than 60 mm and a linearity error of about 2% between 1 and 3 m distance with 50-ms integration time. Moreover, high-gain readout operation enables to improve the performance, achieving about 43-mm depth uncertainty at 3 m.
This paper presents a cmos image sensor with the in-pixel aperture technique for single-chip 2-D and 3-D imaging. In conventional imagesensors, the aperture is located at the camera lens. However, in the proposed ima...
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This paper presents a cmos image sensor with the in-pixel aperture technique for single-chip 2-D and 3-D imaging. In conventional imagesensors, the aperture is located at the camera lens. However, in the proposed imagesensor, the aperture is integrated on the cmos image sensor chip and is formed at a metal layer of the cmos image sensor (CIS) process. A pixel array of the imagesensor is composed of the W, R, B, and PA pixels (W pixel with integrated metal aperture) for extracting color and depth information. While the image of the W pixel becomes blurred with increasing distance from a focused object, the image of the PA pixel maintains the sharpness. Therefore, the depth image can be obtained using the depth from the defocus method. The size of the pixel, which is based on a four-transistor active pixel sensor with pinned photodiode, is 2.8 mu m x 2.8 mu m. A prototype of the proposed imagesensor was fabricated using the 0.11-mu m CIS process and its performance was evaluated.
We report transmissive color filters based on subwavelength dielectric gratings that can replace conventional dye-based color filters used in backside-illuminated cmos image sensor (BSI CIS) technologies. The filters ...
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We report transmissive color filters based on subwavelength dielectric gratings that can replace conventional dye-based color filters used in backside-illuminated cmos image sensor (BSI CIS) technologies. The filters are patterned in an 80 nm-thick poly silicon film on a 115 nm-thick SiO2 spacer layer. They are optimized for operating at the primary RGB colors, exhibit peak transmittance of 6080%, and have an almost insensitive response over a +/- 20 degrees angular range. This technology enables shrinking of the pixel sizes down to near a micrometer.
The surface passivation of a cmos image sensor (CIS) is highly beneficial for the overall improvement of a device performance. We employed the thermal atomic layer deposition (T-ALD) and plasma enhanced (PE-ALD) techn...
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The surface passivation of a cmos image sensor (CIS) is highly beneficial for the overall improvement of a device performance. We employed the thermal atomic layer deposition (T-ALD) and plasma enhanced (PE-ALD) techniques for the deposition of 20 nm HfO2 as well as stacked with 3 and 5 nm Al2O3 thin films. The HfO2/Si and Al2O3/HfO2/Si metal-oxide-semiconductor structures were used to analyze the fixed charge density (Q(f)) and interface trap density (D-it). The as-synthesized samples show high D-it and Q(f) values (10(12) cm(-2)eV(-1)) and a minority carrier lifetime of 15-300 mu s. The finite-difference time-domain simulation of high-k dielectrics confirmed that the Al2O3 (top)/HfO2 stacked structures expected higher quantum efficiency for CIS application. The effect of vacuum annealing (VA) and forming gas annealing (FGA) treatments succeeded with the decomposition of the Dit and increase in carrier lifetime. The H-2 ambient FGA samples showed a remarkable decrease in the D-it values. To improve the overall performance of the device after passivation, we employed an Al2O3/HfO2 bilayer structure, which showed a low D-it of 10(11) cm(-2)eV(-1) and a minority carrier lifetime of similar to 3,700 mu s after 400 degrees C and 30 min FGA. We believe that this surface passivation strategy will pave way for future CIS technology regarding the development of lower defective surface and superior performance.
An approach to obtain the pinch-off voltage of 4-T pixel in cmos image sensor is *** new approach is based on the assumption that the photon shot noise in image signal is impacted by a potential well structure change ...
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An approach to obtain the pinch-off voltage of 4-T pixel in cmos image sensor is *** new approach is based on the assumption that the photon shot noise in image signal is impacted by a potential well structure change of *** results show the measured pinch-off voltage is consistent with theoretical *** technique provides an experimental method to assist the optimization of pixel design in both the photodiode structure and fabrication process for the 4-T cmos image sensor.
A dynamic range extension scheme applied to a time delay integration (TDI) cmos image sensor (CIS) is presented. Two types of pixels with higher and lower conversion gain are adopted in the pixel array, which are ...
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A dynamic range extension scheme applied to a time delay integration (TDI) cmos image sensor (CIS) is presented. Two types of pixels with higher and lower conversion gain are adopted in the pixel array, which are suitable for capturing images in low and high illumination respectively. By fusing the two kinds of pixels' output signals in the process of TDI accumulation, a high dynamic range image can be achieved. Compared with the traditional multiple integration technique, no photoelectrons generated during the exposure time are discarded by the reset operation, and thus a higher level of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be retained. A prototype chip with an 8 × 8 pixel array is implemented in a 0.18 μm CIS process, and the pixel size is 15 × 15 μm2. Test results show that a 76 dB dynamic range can be achieved in 8-stage TDI mode, when the SNR boost can reach 7.26 dB at 90.8 lux.
A cmos image sensor (CIS) that can perform on-chip binary convolution is presented. The CIS can greatly reduce memory usage and computational complexity by directly generating a feature map for a binary neural network...
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A cmos image sensor (CIS) that can perform on-chip binary convolution is presented. The CIS can greatly reduce memory usage and computational complexity by directly generating a feature map for a binary neural network. The pixel readout of the CIS is performed in the column-parallel fashion using incremental delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The CIS operates in two different modes: convolution and normal modes. When the column ADC is working in the convolution mode, it works as a first-order delta-sigma ADC and generates convolved images using a binary kernel. In the normal operation mode, the ADC is switched to a second-order delta-sigma ADC with little hardware modification and used to capture high-quality images. To demonstrate the CIS architecture, a 192 x 128-pixel CIS, which occupies an active die area of 14.44 mm(2), is fabricated in a 0.18 mu m standard cmos process. The performance of the CIS is evaluated through measurements and network simulations. In the normal operation mode, the CIS achieves a read noise of 14.79 e(rms)(-) and a full-well capacity of 6,420 e(-) with a resulting dynamic range of 53 dB. The power consumptions of the CIS are 49.2 and 52.5 mW during the normal and convolution modes, respectively.
Conventional voltage-based cmos image sensors inherently have a dynamic range of about 60 dB. To extend the dynamic range, a two-degree of freedom time-based cmos image sensor is proposed. Instead of reading analog vo...
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Conventional voltage-based cmos image sensors inherently have a dynamic range of about 60 dB. To extend the dynamic range, a two-degree of freedom time-based cmos image sensor is proposed. Instead of reading analog voltages off chip, a time representation is used to record when the photodetector voltage passes a timing-varying threshold. The time measurements are combined with the reference voltage waveform to reconstruct the image. Experimental results on a prototype 32 x 32 pixel array cmos image sensor verify that the two-degree of freedom sampling technique is feasible for ultra-wide dynamic range imaging. A measured 115 dB dynamic range at 30 fps is obtained.
A new pixel structure is proposed for wide dynamic range cmos image sensors. A pixel based on a three-transistor active pixel sensor has two linear responses and a logarithmic response using additional circuits. The p...
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A new pixel structure is proposed for wide dynamic range cmos image sensors. A pixel based on a three-transistor active pixel sensor has two linear responses and a logarithmic response using additional circuits. The photogate surrounding the n(+)/p-sub photodiode exists for the second linear response. The logarithmic response is due to the biased MOS cascode. The proposed pixel was designed and fabricated using a 0.35-mu m 2-poly 4-metal standard cmos process. The dynamic range of the pixel is higher than 106 dB. A test chip with a pixel pitch of 10 x 10 mu m(2) and a 160 x 120 pixel array is evaluated.
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