Invention Grant
US09521342B2 Amplifier sharing technique for low power charge mode readout in CMOS image sensors 有权
CMOS图像传感器中低功耗电荷模式读出的放大器共享技术

Amplifier sharing technique for low power charge mode readout in CMOS image sensors
Abstract:
Presented herein are novel shared amplifier charge mode readout architectures for image sensors, for example, configured to process a pair of signals comprising photointegration and reset signals from a pixel. The invention encompasses a novel 2-channel configuration wherein a single amplifier can serve the two channels in alternating phases. In the first phase, a selected pair of signals from the first channel is read out to an ADC using the amplifier while the readout components of the second channel are reset. In the second phase, a selected pair of signals from the second channel is read out an ADC using the amplifier while the readout components of the first channel are reset. This alternating arrangement allows a single amplifier to be shared between two readout channels. Level shifting may be included in the signal pathway to modulate output swing and other signal parameters.
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