Abstract: First and second readout circuits, each having a respective floating diffusion node, are coupled to a photodetection element within a pixel of an integrated-circuit image sensor. Following an exposure interval in which photocharge is accumulated within the photodetection element, a first portion of the accumulated photocharge is transferred from the photodetection element to the first floating diffusion node to enable generation of a first output signal within the first readout circuit, and a second portion of the accumulated photocharge is transferred from the photodetection element to the second floating diffusion node to enable generation of a second output signal within the second readout circuit. A digital pixel value is generated based on the first and second output signals.

Abstract: Charge leakage/injection suppression circuitry within a capacitive programmable gain amplifier provides a low-impedance expulsion path for residual carriers within a feedback-path amplifier-mode switch and equalizes a voltage across a critical-leakage-path component of that amplifier-mode switch, reducing charge injection and leakage into an otherwise isolated amplifier input node to yield a low-noise amplifier output.

Abstract: A sensing device includes a light source to emit light, a light sensor to detect reflection of the emitted light and distance determination circuitry responsive to reflected-light detection within the light sensor. The light sensor includes a photodetector having a photocharge storage capacity in excess of one electron and an output circuit that generates an output signal responsive to light detection within the photodetector with sub-hundred nanosecond latency. The distance determination circuitry measures an elapsed time based on transition of the output signal in response to photonic detection within the photodetector and determines, based on the elapsed time, a distance between the sensing device and a surface that yielded the reflection of the emitted light.

Abstract: Clock and other cyclical signals are driven onto respective capacitively-loaded segments of a distribution path via inverting buffer stages that self-correct for stage-to-stage duty cycle error, yielding a balanced signal duty cycle over the length of the distribution path.

Abstract: A sensing device includes a light source to emit light, a light sensor to detect reflection of the emitted light and distance determination circuitry responsive to reflected-light detection within the light sensor. The light sensor includes a photodetector having a photocharge storage capacity in excess of one electron and an output circuit that generates an output signal responsive to light detection within the photodetector with sub-hundred nanosecond latency. The distance determination circuitry measures an elapsed time based on transition of the output signal in response to photonic detection within the photodetector and determines, based on the elapsed time, a distance between the sensing device and a surface that yielded the reflection of the emitted light.

Abstract: Clock and other cyclical signals are driven onto respective capacitively-loaded segments of a distribution path via inverting buffer stages that self-correct for stage-to-stage duty cycle error, yielding a balanced signal duty cycle over the length of the distribution path.

Abstract: Multi-stage auto-zeroing signal amplifiers are deployed within event-shuttering pixels of a quanta image sensor (QIS) pixel array to enable reliable per-pixel reporting of photonic events, down to resolution of a single photon strike, for each of a continuous sequence of sub-microsecond event-detection intervals.

Abstract: Row-by-row pixel read-out is executed concurrently within respective clusters of pixels of a pixel array, alternating the between descending and ascending progressions in the intra-cluster row readout sequence to reduce temporal skew between neighboring pixel rows in adjacent clusters.

Abstract: Chrominance data channels are reconstructed from a color-mosaic image data input and de-noised with guidance from a luminance data channel extracted from that same mosaic data input to produce de-noised chrominance channels. The de-noised chrominance channels are combined with a de-noised version of the luminance channel to yield a primary-color-channel output image.

Abstract: A sub-ranging programmable gain amplifier resolves an incoming signal into one of multiple amplitude sub-ranges and dynamically steps down the PGA output according to the identified sub-range.

Abstract: Shared-readout pixels conventionally disposed in two or more physical columns of a pixel array are spatially interleaved (merged) within a single physical column to yield a pixel array in which each physical pixel column includes two or more logical columns of shared-readout pixels coupled to respective logical-column output lines.

Abstract: Photodetection elements within an integrated-circuit pixel array are dynamically configurable to any of at least three uniform-aspect-ratio, size-scaled pixel footprints through read-out-time control of in-pixel transfer gates associated with respective photodetection elements and binning transistors coupled between the transfer gates for respective clusters of the photodetection elements and a shared reset node.

Abstract: A pixel array within an integrated-circuit image sensor includes four sets of photodetection elements disposed in respective pixel-array regions having a shared corner, four readout circuits each coupled to a respective one of the four sets of photodetection elements, a reset node, a reset transistor, and binning transistors. Each of the four readout circuits has a floating diffusion node, a first transfer gate coupled between the floating diffusion node and a constituent photodetection element of the respective one of the four sets of photodetection elements, and an amplifier transistor having a gate terminal coupled to the floating diffusion node. The reset transistor is coupled between the reset node and a reset-voltage supply, and each one of the binning transistors is coupled between the reset node and the floating diffusion node of a respective one of the readout circuits.

Abstract: Multiple temperature-proportional cores are implemented within a bandgap circuit to deliver respective, uncorrelated temperature-proportional currents to a temperature-complementary load, reducing flicker noise in the resulting bandgap reference voltage.

Abstract: First and second readout circuits, each having a respective floating diffusion node, are coupled to a photodetection element within a pixel of an integrated-circuit image sensor. Following an exposure interval in which photocharge is accumulated within the photodetection element, a first portion of the accumulated photocharge is transferred from the photodetection element to the first floating diffusion node to enable generation of a first output signal within the first readout circuit, and a second portion of the accumulated photocharge is transferred from the photodetection element to the second floating diffusion node to enable generation of a second output signal within the second readout circuit. A digital pixel value is generated based on the first and second output signals.

Abstract: Row-by-row pixel read-out is executed concurrently within respective clusters of pixels of a pixel array, alternating the between descending and ascending progressions in the intra-cluster row readout sequence to reduce temporal skew between neighboring pixel rows in adjacent clusters.

Abstract: Conventional SRAM sense-amplifiers are replaced by small-footprint keeper circuits that enable single-ended SRAM readout without bitline precharge, simplifying and relaxing the timing of SRAM cell access and bitline sampling operations and thus enabling potentially faster readout operation and/or lower bit error rate.

Abstract: A sensing device includes a light source to emit light, a light sensor to detect reflection of the emitted light and distance determination circuitry responsive to reflected-light detection within the light sensor. The light sensor includes a photodetector having a photocharge storage capacity in excess of one electron and an output circuit that generates an output signal responsive to light detection within the photodetector with sub-hundred nanosecond latency. The distance determination circuitry measures an elapsed time based on transition of the output signal in response to photonic detection within the photodetector and determines, based on the elapsed time, a distance between the sensing device and a surface that yielded the reflection of the emitted light.

Abstract: Correlated double sampling column-level readout of an image sensor pixel (e.g., a CMOS image sensor) may be provided by a charge transfer amplifier that is configured and operated to itself provide for both correlated-double-sampling and amplification of floating diffusion potentials read out from the pixel onto a column bus after reset of the floating diffusion (i) but before transferring photocharge to the floating diffusion (the reset potential) and (ii) after transferring photocharge to the floating diffusion (the transfer potential). A common capacitor of the charge transfer amplifier may sample both the reset potential and the transfer potential such that a change in potential (and corresponding charge change) on the capacitor represents the difference between the transfer potential and reset potential, and the magnitude of this change is amplified by the charge change being transferred between the common capacitor and a second capacitor selectively coupled to the common capacitor.

Abstract: An image sensor may a plurality of pixels, one or more analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) circuits, and at least one quantization circuit. The pixels may generate analog signals based on photoelectrons accumulated by the pixels when exposed to light. The ADC circuits may convert the analog signals to digital signals, wherein the digital signals may include (a) a first set of digital signals individually having a value corresponding to an integer number of discrete photoelectrons and (b) a second set of digital signals individually having a value between values of the first set of digital signals so as to correspond to a non-integer number of discrete photoelectron. The quantization circuit may convert the second set of digital signals to a third set of digital signals, wherein the third set of digital signals individually has a value corresponding to an integer number of discrete photoelectrons.