Abstract: An operational trans-conductance amplifier circuit having a voltage clamp circuit. The clamp circuit utilizes low area and power overhead, has a sharp clamp characteristic, and little degradation in the small-signal DC gain at the “knee” of the clamp characteristic. The clamp circuit includes a comparator circuit and a current control circuit. The amplifier and clamp circuits may further include a clamp voltage generator circuit.

Abstract: An operational trans-conductance amplifier circuit having a voltage clamp circuit. The clamp circuit utilizes low area and power overhead, has a sharp clamp characteristic, and little degradation in the small-signal DC gain at the “knee” of the clamp characteristic. The clamp circuit includes a comparator circuit and a current control circuit. The amplifier and clamp circuits may further include a clamp voltage generator circuit.

Abstract: A system and method for averaging incident light on plural pixels using a CMOS sensor is provided. The process includes resetting all pixels in a given region during a reset phase; and reading a voltage of a floating reset node as a function of time during a measurement phase. During the reset phase, an access select signal and a reset voltage are both high. The measurement phase begins when the access select signal is low and the reset voltage is still high. The system and method may be used to perform automatic exposure control and automatic white balancing operations.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for limiting the absolute magnitude of an audio signal. The method may include firstly variable-gain reducing the gain of an audio signal, and then secondly variable-gain reducing the gain of the audio signal faster than the first variable-gain reduction, thereby limiting the absolute magnitude of the audio signal to a threshold. The first variable-gain reduction may include variable-gain reducing the gain of the audio signal in a first stage, and the second variable-gain reduction may include variable-gain reducing the gain of the audio signal in a second stage that reduces the gain faster than the first stage. The second variable-gain reduction may include delaying the audio signal, finding a peak among the delayed audio signal, calculating a fast gain from a found peak, and modifying the delayed audio signal with the calculated fast gain.

Abstract: A system and method for averaging incident light on plural pixels using a CMOS sensor is provided. The process includes resetting all pixels in a given region during a reset phase; and reading a voltage of a floating reset node as a function of time during a measurement phase. During the reset phase, an access select signal and a reset voltage are both high. The measurement phase begins when the access select signal is low and the reset voltage is still high. The system and method may be used to perform automatic exposure control and automatic white balancing operations.

Abstract: A method and system for inter-processor communication in a pixel array in a CMOS sensor is provided. The system includes a bus for transmitting information between a first processor and a second processor, wherein such information is used for performing image processing operations in the pixel array in an analog domain. The bus may be a pixel read-out bus and/or an access bus. The information is used to perform outlier detection, bad pixel detection, and/or bad pixel correction in the analog domain, or any other image processing operation. The method includes sharing information between a first and a second processor; and using the information to perform image processing operations in an analog domain.

Abstract: A system and method for averaging incident light on plural pixels using a CMOS sensor is provided. The process includes resetting all pixels in a given region during a reset phase; and reading a voltage of a floating reset node as a function of time during a measurement phase. During the reset phase, an access select signal and a reset voltage are both high. The measurement phase begins when the access select signal is low and the reset voltage is still high. The system and method may be used to perform automatic exposure control and automatic white balancing operations.

Abstract: A method and system for automatic bad pixel correction in image sensors is provided. The process includes identifying outlier pixels, identifying bad pixels, and performing bad pixel correction. Bad pixels are identified by comparing pixels in a single row or more than one row. A bad pixel value is replaced by a pixel value that depends on the pixel value of non-bad pixels located next to the bad pixel. The system includes means for identifying outlier pixels, means for identifying bad pixels, and means for performing bad pixel correction.

Abstract: A system and method for averaging incident light on plural pixels using a CMOS sensor is provided. The process includes resetting all pixels in a given region during a reset phase; and reading a voltage of a floating reset node as a function of time during a measurement phase. During the reset phase, an access select signal and a reset voltage are both high. The measurement phase begins when the access select signal is low and the reset voltage is still high. The system and method may be used to perform automatic exposure control and automatic white balancing operations.