Among other things, techniques and systems are provided for identifying when a pixel of an image sensor is in an idle period. A flag is utilized to differentiate when the pixel is in an idle period and when the pixel is in an integration period. When the flag indicates that the pixel is in an idle period, a blooming operation is performed on the pixel to reduce an amount of electrical charge that has accumulated at the pixel or to mitigate electrical charge from accumulating at the pixel. In this way, the blooming operation reduces a probability that the photosensitive sensor becomes saturated during an idle period of the pixel, and thus reduces the likelihood of electrical charge from a pixel that is not intended contribute to an image from spilling over and potentially contaminating a pixel that is intended to contribute to the image.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An image sensor, comprising: a control circuit configured to drive a pixel of the image sensor, where the pixel is associated with an integration period and an idle period, the control circuit comprising: a drive component configured to drive the pixel and to maintain the pixel in a reset state during at least a portion of the idle period to mitigate a buildup of electrical charge at a photosensitive sensor of the pixel; and a flagging component configured to identify when the pixel is in the integration period and when the pixel is in the idle period.
2. The image sensor of claim 1 , the pixel comprising: a transfer transistor configured to transfer electrical charge that has accumulated at the photosensitive sensor of the pixel to a floating diffusion node of the pixel, the transfer transistor operably coupled between the photosensitive sensor and the floating diffusion node.
3. The image sensor of claim 2 , the drive component configured to alter a voltage of a transfer aspect of a control signal transmitted to the transfer transistor while the pixel is in the idle period such that the pixel remains in the idle period after the voltage is altered.
4. The image sensor of claim 3 , the altered voltage configured to mitigate transfer of electrical charge, which has accumulated at the photosensitive sensor, from the photosensitive sensor to a photosensitive sensor of a second pixel of the image sensor.
5. The image sensor of claim 1 , the drive component configured to: activate a transfer transistor of the pixel to transfer electrical charge that has accumulated at the photosensitive sensor of the pixel to a floating diffusion node of the pixel, the transfer transistor coupled between the photosensitive sensor and the floating diffusion node; and activate a reset transistor of the pixel to reset at least one of the floating diffusion node or the photosensitive sensor, the floating diffusion node coupled between the photosensitive sensor and the floating diffusion node.
6. The image sensor of claim 5 , the drive component configured to activate the transfer transistor by applying a transfer signal to the transfer transistor and activate the reset transistor by applying a reset signal to the reset transistor to maintain the pixel in the reset state during the at least a portion of the idle period.
7. The image sensor of claim 1 , comprising: a solid-state pixel array within which the pixel is comprised.
8. The image sensor of claim 1 , comprising: a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor array within which the pixel is comprised.
9. The image sensor of claim 1 , the flagging component configured to set a flag when the pixel is in the idle period and the drive component configured to determine that the pixel is in the idle period when the flag is set.
10. The image sensor of claim 1 , wherein electrical charge that has accumulated at the photosensitive sensor of the pixel is at least partially discharged while the pixel is in the reset state.
11. A light-capturing device, comprising: an image sensor comprising a control circuit configured to drive a pixel, the control circuit comprising a flagging component configured to identify when the pixel is in an integration period, the flagging component configured to identify when the pixel is in an idle period and the control circuit comprising a drive component configured to reduce electrical charge at a photosensitive sensor of the pixel during at least a portion of the idle period; and a readout component configured to process a signal output by the pixel and indicative of electrical charge collected during at least a portion of the integration period.
12. The light-capturing device of claim 11 , the drive component configured to emit a control signal to control the pixel during the idle period, the control signal having a first set of properties during a first portion of the idle period and having a second set of properties during a second portion of the idle period.
13. The light-capturing device of claim 11 , the image sensor comprising a solid-state pixel array within which the pixel is comprised.
14. The light-capturing device of claim 11 , the image sensor comprising a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor array within which the pixel is comprised.
15. A light-capturing device, comprising: an image sensor comprising: a pixel; and a control circuit configured to drive the pixel, the control circuit comprising: a flagging component configured to identify when the pixel is in an idle period and when the pixel is in an integration period; and a drive component configured to reset the pixel during the idle period to at least partially discharge electrical charge that has accumulated at a photosensitive sensor of the pixel; and a readout component configured to process a signal output by the pixel and indicative of electrical charge collected during at least a portion of the integration period.
16. The light-capturing device of claim 15 , the pixel comprising: a transfer transistor comprising a gate operably coupled the drive component, the transfer transistor configured to couple the photosensitive sensor to a floating diffusion node upon being activated by the drive component during the idle period.
17. The light-capturing device of claim 16 , the pixel comprising: a reset transistor comprising a gate operably coupled to the drive component, the reset transistor configured to couple the floating diffusion node to a first voltage source upon being activated by the drive component during the idle period.
18. The light-capturing device of claim 17 , wherein the drive component is configured to activate the transfer transistor and the reset transistor concurrently to operably couple the photosensitive sensor to the first voltage source.
19. The light-capturing device of claim 17 , the pixel comprising: a source follower transistor comprising a gate operably coupled to the floating diffusion node; and a selection transistor comprising at least one of a source or a drain coupled to the readout component and at least one of the source or the drain coupled to the source follower transistor.
20. The light-capturing device of claim 15 , the pixel comprising at least one of a solid-state pixel or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor pixel.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
February 5, 2013
February 23, 2016
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