Abstract: A device for detecting electromagnetic radiation, with a diode structure acting absorbingly for the electromagnetic radiation and having a diode, and an ascertainer for ascertaining a measurement value for the absorbed electromagnetic radiation by means of at least two current/voltage measurements at the diode for different pairs of a diode current and a diode voltage.

Abstract: An image sensor circuit includes a CMOS image sensor with light sensitive pixels arranged in rows and columns and a readout circuitry. The readout circuitry includes storage means with a CDS stage for storing signals read out from the pixels at two different time instants between two subsequent reset phases and an analogue-to-digital converter, wherein the CDS stage comprises a subtracting means for subtracting the stored signals from each other and wherein the result of the subtraction is fed to the analogue-to-digital converter as a differential signal.

Abstract: The central idea of the present invention is that the resetting of the energy store associated with the receiver prior to every detection interval and/or prior to every exposure period, during which the energy stored in the energy store is to be changed in accordance with the output signal of the receiver so as to use the state of the energy store following the reception interval as information about the object may be avoided by setting the sensitivity of the receiver, which determines the level of the output signal at a specified electromagnetic radiation, higher in at least one instance, and lower in at least one instance between two resetting events, or by varying the sensitivity. The noise contribution provided by the resetting operations is hereby avoided, which is why the benefit of the accumulation and/or integration may be exploited across several reception intervals without this noise contribution.

Abstract: An image sensor includes a plurality of image elements configured to provide associated image element signals which are dependent on light intensities incident on the image elements. The image sensor includes an accumulation circuit with a plurality of charge storage elements, wherein the accumulation circuit is configured to change charges on the charge storage elements during a phase in dependence on image element signals of respectively associated image elements. The accumulation circuit is further configured to change an association between charge storage elements and associated image elements in successive phases, so that in operation, a charge on one of the charge storage elements depends on image element signals of plural image elements in a plurality of phases.

Abstract: The central idea of the present invention is that a readout result of an optical detection unit which is based on accumulating photocharges can be improved when the charge carriers accumulated on a photodiode capacitance can be transferred to a readout capacitance before being read out by a readout unit, and when the state of the readout capacitance can be read out in a non-destructive manner by the readout unit, so that a noise portion in the readout signal can be corrected by reading out the readout capacitance during charge accumulation and again reading out the readout capacitance after the end of charge accumulation. Additionally, it becomes possible by the transfer to the readout capacitance to vary the sensitivity of the optical detection device within broad limits and to record a sequence of successive light pulses, without having to reset a photodiode before recording every single light pulse.

Abstract: A device for reading out image data of a sub-range of an image captured by an image sensor is described, the image sensor including a plurality of image sensor elements which can be read out by an activation signal sequentially appliable to same according to a predetermined clock signal, wherein the image sensor elements outputting the image data for the sub-range can be determined by means of an activation pattern. The device comprises a plurality of branch blocks connected in series storing the activation pattern, wherein each of the branch blocks, depending on the activation pattern, applies the activation signal received to one or several image sensor elements associated with a branch block or passes same on to a subsequent branch block or a terminating element. The activation pattern is stored in the branch blocks substantially simultaneously to the activation signal. No delay or latency times, respectively, occur in the sensor readout.

Abstract: In a method for imaging, a plurality of image sensor elements is used, which generate different output signal values when using different exposure times. For each image sensor element, an image signal value is generated by generating a first output signal value when using a first exposure time and an associated second output signal value using a second exposure time. If the first output signal value does not exceed a threshold value associated thereto, the image signal value is calculated using a first calculating rule on the basis of the first output signal value. If the first output signal value exceeds the threshold value, the image signal value is calculated using at least a second calculating rule on the basis of at least the second output signal value.

Abstract: A video endoscopy device includes a sensor device and a catheter for routing radiation to a distal end of the catheter and for outputting same at the distal end of the catheter, and for receiving reflected radiation at the distal end and imaging same onto the sensor device, the sensor device being arranged, within the catheter, near the distal end of the catheter, and is configured to convert the reflected radiation into an electric signal, and the catheter being configured to route the electric signal to a proximal end of the catheter. The video endoscopy device thus allows improved image quality, such as with pre-, intra-, and post-operative observations at and/or in organs and vessels in an actual, i.e. blood-filled, environment.

Abstract: A frequency generator with a phase locked loop includes a loop filter, the transfer function of which has a pair of complex conjugated poles. The present invention provides an optimum and greatly improved compromise, in particular as opposed to the prior art, between phase noise and settling time of the phase locked loop of the frequency generator.

Abstract: An indirect detection of the reflected radiation pulses, when measuring a distance by means of the photoeffect, allows considerably expanding the usability of the distance sensor and the distance measuring method, wherein the adaption to a new field of application only requires little design changes. Since in the external photoeffect the photoelectrons are ejected from the material irradiated photon by photon or quantum by quantum and the photons, when being ejected, only require a certain minimum energy and correspondingly the radiation used for irradiation only requires a sufficiently small wavelength, the external photoeffect allows detecting radiation over a large spectral range. When interferences occur in a certain wavelength range in a certain field of application, the operating wavelength range of the distance sensor technology may at first simply be set to another spectral range by using such an irradiation source having a spectrum outside the spectral range containing the interferences.

Abstract: An indirect detection of the reflected radiation pulses, when measuring a distance by means of the photoeffect, allows considerably expanding the usability of the distance sensor and the distance measuring method, wherein the adaption to a new field of application only requires little design changes. Since in the external photoeffect the photoelectrons are ejected from the material irradiated photon by photon or quantum by quantum and the photons, when being ejected, only require a certain minimum energy and correspondingly the radiation used for irradiation only requires a sufficiently small wavelength, the external photoeffect allows detecting radiation over a large spectral range. When interferences occur in a certain wavelength range in a certain field of application, the operating wavelength range of the distance sensor technology may at first simply be set to another spectral range by using such an irradiation source having a spectrum outside the spectral range containing the interferences.

Abstract: A frequency generator with a phase locked loop includes a loop filter, the transfer function of which has a pair of complex conjugated poles. The present invention provides an optimum and greatly improved compromise, in particular as opposed to the prior art, between phase noise and settling time of the phase locked loop of the frequency generator.

Abstract: A frequency generator according to the invention includes a controllable oscillator comprising a control input and an oscillator output, wherein the controllable oscillator is formed to output, at the oscillator output, an oscillator signal with an oscillator frequency dependent on a control signal at the control input, sampling means for sampling the oscillator signal or a signal of the controllable oscillator derived therefrom with a reference frequency, in order to obtain a sample signal, and a low-pass filter for low-pass filtering the sample signal or a signal derived therefrom, in order to obtain the control signal or a signal underlying the control signal. Due to the less intensive construction, in particular the lack of a frequency divider, and the quicker adjustability of the currently generated frequency, according to the invention, more current-saving frequency generation may be obtained.

Abstract: For detecting a change between pixel signals which chronologically follow one another, a current pixel value is first deteced and, subsequently, the difference between the detected pixel signal and a reference value is determined. Depending on the difference, it is determined whether there is a change of the detected pixel value in comparison with the preceding pixel values, the reference signal being produced from two or more pixel values preceding the detected pixel value.

Abstract: In a method for imaging, a plurality of image sensor elements (12) is used, which generate different output signal values when using different exposure times. For each image sensor element, an image signal value is generated by generating a first output signal value (y1(x)) when using a first exposure time (Tint,long) and an associated second output signal value (y2(x)) when using a second exposure time (Tint,short). If the first output signal value does not exceed a threshold value (yo) associated thereto, the image signal value (y(x)) is calculated using a first calculating rule on the basis of the first output signal value (y1(x)). If the first output signal value exceeds the threshold value (yo), the image signal value (y(x)) is calculated using at least a second calculating rule on the basis of at least the second output signal value (y2(x)).

Abstract: A device for seat supervision in motor vehicles has a pulsed monochromatic light source for the short-time illumination of a supervised space. An image sensor array (ISA) is also provided for recording an image of the supervised space. The ISA is provided with a global electronic shutter unit which permits the illumination time of the ISA to be adjusted independently of a readout clock of the ISA. A synchronization unit for synchronizing the operation of the pulsed laser source and the ISA is provided. Also provided is a control unit for controlling the light source and the ISA so as to create a first image of the supervised space during illumination of the same at a first time and to create a second image of the supervised space without illumination of the same at a second time. Finally, a unit for creating a difference image from the first and second images is also provided.

Abstract: An optical detector has at least one image sensor element that generates an image sensor element output signal according to the illumination incident on the element. A readout amplifier for the one or each image sensor element is switchable between a plurality of amplification stages for amplifying the respective image sensor element output signal. An amplification switch is provided for comparing the image sensor element output signal with at least one given threshold value before the signal is amplified by the readout amplifier and for switching between the amplification stages of the readout amplifier depending on the result of the comparison. The optical detector has a first output signal indicating the amplified image sensor element output signal and a second output signal indicating the amplification stage to which the amplifier is switched.

Abstract: In a method for detecting an image signal by means of an array (30) of photosensitive devices (10) with each of which the charge of a capacitance (12) can be altered, an optical signal (20) of each photosensitive device is first detected by means of the following substeps: creating a charge condition of the capacitance with a predetermined voltage (+U_DD), changing the charge of the capacitance (12) either with a photocurrent generated in the photosensitive device (10) by the optical signal (20) or with a quantity derived from the same and detecting the voltage across the capacitance (12) after a predetermined time period, deciding whether the detected voltage lies within a valid range and, if this is so, determining on the basis of the detected voltage a valid signal which characterizes the detected optical signal, and, if this is not so, repeating the cited steps with a time period which differs from the predetermined time period either a predetermined number of times or until it is determined that the

Abstract: A sensor element has a field effect transistor sensitive to a physical quity to be detected. The gate electrode of the transistor is implemented as a floating gate. The sensor element has therefore integrated therein a sensor cell and a non-volatile memory. The operating point of the transistor can be adjusted permanently by means of the floating gate on which charges can be stored in a non-volatile manner. In addition, charges corresponding to a detected physical quantity can be stored on the floating gate via a simple circuit in a non-volatile manner.

Abstract: A configurable analog and digital array is realized in a hierarchical structure on at least two levels. It comprises at least two first-order matrix arrays, each of said matrix arrays including a plurality of basic elements which are arranged in rows and/or columns and at least part of which are analog basic elements, and a first switch matrix for controllably interconnecting the signal inputs and the signal outputs of the basic elements and for connecting said basic elements to matrix inputs and matrix outputs, as well as at least one second-order matrix array having a second switch matrix for controllably interconnecting the matrix inputs and the matrix outputs of the first-order matrix arrays and for controllably connecting said matrix arrays to array inputs and array outputs.