Abstract: The high Q inductor process for reducing substrate interaction of integrated inductors includes etching away some of the silicon substrate after the inductor has been formed on the substrate. A first etch process is performed to form an opening in the center of the inductor exposing the silicon substrate. A second etch process is performed to etch the exposed silicon substrate to form a trench in the silicon substrate. A third etch process is performed to etch the trench into an inverted pyramidal cavity within the substrate and extending beneath the inductor. The pyramidal cavity is then filled with a solution, such as spin-on-glass thereby providing mechanical support for the inductor.

Abstract: Apparatus for storing voltage on an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) buffered through an input voltage follower circuit provides an architecturally simple and efficient low temperature coefficient, low power, programmable complementary metal oxide semiconductor voltage reference.

Abstract: High-voltage n-channel and p-channel MOS transistors are formed on an insulated wafer, such as a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The heavily-doped area of the drain region is separated from the channel region by a lighter-doped area of the drain region which has a lateral width which is substantially greater than the lateral width of the sidewall spacers formed adjacent to the gates of the spacers.

Abstract: The accumulation of a small positive charge on the source of a MOS switch which occurs after the switch has been turned off due to the parasitic capacitance that exists between the gate and the source of the transistor, known as clock feedthrough, is reduced by utilizing a split-gate MOS transistor, and by continuously biasing one of the gates of the split-gate transistor.

Abstract: The blue signal of a CMOS-based color pixel is increased with respect to the red and green signals by lowering the doping concentration of the surface regions of the pn-junction photodiodes that are used in the blue imaging cells with respect to the surface regions of the pn-junction photodiodes that are used in the red and green imaging cells.

Abstract: An image cell having self-reset which provides improved dynamic range is achieved by having a reset circuit, a comparator circuit and a memory circuit. The image cell operates such that the comparator circuit compares the voltage potential of the image cell with a reference voltage potential. Once the comparator circuit senses that the voltage potential of the image cell transcends the reference voltage potential, the comparator circuit sends a reset signal to the reset circuit. The reset circuit then resets the image cell. Each time the image cell is reset, a reset value is stored in the memory circuit, and the sum of the reset values stored in the memory circuit corresponds to the number of times the image cell has been reset. By resetting the image cell a plurality of times, the dynamic range of a conventional image cell can be increased.

Abstract: The quantum efficiency of a photodiode is substantially increased by forming the photodiode on a heavily-doped layer of semiconductor material which, in turn, is formed on a semiconductor substrate. The heavily-doped layer of semiconductor material tends to repel information carriers in the photodiode from being lost to the substrate, and prevents noise carriers from the substrate from diffusing up into the photodiode. In addition, the red and blue photoresponses are balanced by adjusting the depth of the photodiode.

Abstract: The dynamic range of an imaging system that utilizes an array of active pixel sensor cells is substantially increased by reading each cell in the array multiple times during each integration period. Each time a cell is read, the number of photons collected by the cell is saved and the cell is reset if the cell would normally saturate by the end of the integration period. At the end of the integration period, the number of photons collected by each cell is defined by the sum of the values collected during the integration period.

Abstract: An active pixel image cell which includes a photosensor, active devices for control of the sensor and readout of a signal representing the intensity of light to which the sensor is exposed, and a neuron MOSFET transistor which "both amplifies the signal from the photosensor and" simulates the behavior of a human neuron. An integrated neural network and imaging array may be formed by interconnecting a group of such pixels. Digital signal processing algorithms used for image processing may be implemented at the pixel level by appropriate interconnections between the output signals from the photosensor of surrounding pixels and the neuron MOSFET.

Abstract: The noise in the photo information extracted from an active pixel sensor cell is reduced by resetting the voltage on the photodiode of the cell to the power supply voltage, and by reading the cell immediately before and after the cell is reset. The voltage on the photodiode is reset to the power supply voltage by applying a reset voltage to the gate of the reset transistor conventionally used to reset the photodiode where the reset voltage is sufficiently larger than the power supply voltage to cause the voltage on the photodiode to be pulled up to the power supply voltage.

Abstract: Isolation between the heavily-doped active regions of an active pixel sensor cell is provided by utilizing a series of isolation regions which have a doping concentration that is approximately equal to the doping concentration of a low-density drain (LDD) region. A first isolation region of the series, which has the same conductivity type as the active regions, is formed to adjoin a first active region. A second isolation region of the series, which has the opposite conductivity type as the active regions, is formed to adjoin the first isolation region. A third isolation region, which has the same conductivity type as the active regions, is formed to adjoin the second isolation region and a second active region.

Abstract: A digital imager apparatus uses the differences in absorption length in silicon of light of different wavelengths for color separation. A preferred imaging array is based upon a three-color pixel sensor using a triple-well structure. The array results in elimination of color aliasing by measuring each of the three primary colors (RGB) in each pixel in the same location.

Abstract: An active pixel image cell which includes a photosensor and an embedded memory element and may be used to produce signals corresponding to the photosensor outputs for successive frames. The structure of the active pixel cell includes an analog, non-volatile, or dynamic memory element and the control elements needed to store the output of the photosensor generated during a previous frame. The pixel elements then generate a signal representing the current frame output of the photosensor. The current frame output and previous frame output are then provided as output signals for the pixel and may be subjected to off-pixel processing as desired. For example, the two values may be subtracted from one another by an off-pixel difference amplifier to form a signal representing the difference between the image on the photodiode sensor of the pixel between successive frames. The difference signal may then be used for purposes of video compression, motion detection, or image stabilization.

Abstract: The accumulation of a small positive charge on the source of a MOS switch which occurs after the switch has been turned off due to the parasitic capacitance that exists between the gate and the source of the transistor, known as clock feedthrough, is reduced by utilizing a split-gate MOS transistor, and by continuously biasing one of the gates of the split-gate transistor.

Abstract: In an active pixel sensor cell, the blue response of the cell is balanced by utilizing a photodiode in lieu of a photogate, and the noise is reduced by quickly reading the voltage on a node, transferring the collected charge from the photodiode onto the node, and then again reading the voltage on the node.

Abstract: The dynamic range of an imaging system that utilizes an array of active pixel sensor cells is substantially increased by reading each cell in the array multiple times during each integration period. Each time a cell is read, the number of photons collected by the cell is saved and the cell is reset if the cell would normally saturate by the end of the integration period. At the end of the integration period, the number of photons collected by each cell is defined by the sum of the values collected during the integration period.

Abstract: An integrated circuit package assembly is disclosed herein and includes at least one integrated circuit chip having a plurality of chip input/output terminals, an arrangement for providing electrical communication between said input/output terminals and components external to said package, and an electrical inductor arrangement. The electrical inductor arrangement includes an origination terminal, a termination terminal, at least one intermediate connecting surface and a bonding wire positioned within the package. A first segment of the bonding wire is electrically connected with the origination terminal and a second segment is electrically connected with the termination terminal. Furthermore, the bonding wire has at least one intermediate point along it's length physically connected with one intermediate connecting surface. In one embodiment, the bonding wire is continuous along its length.

Abstract: The noise in the photo information output from a CMOS-based active pixel sensor cell is reduced by setting the voltage on the output of the cell to a predetermined voltage, such as ground or the power supply voltage, each time the cell is read prior to the cell being read.

Abstract: The accuracy of an active pixel sensor cell is increased by utilizing a reset diode in lieu of the reset transistor that is conventionally used to reset the voltage on the photodiode of the cell. The reset diode, which is largely unaffected by 1/f noise, consistently resets the photodiode to a substantially constant voltage as opposed to the reset transistor which varies the reset voltage on the photodiode across integration periods due to the effect of 1/f noise. In the present invention, the photodiode is formed by forming a well region of a second conductivity type in a substrate of a first conductivity type. The reset diode is then formed by forming a reset region of the first conductivity type in the well region.

Abstract: An integrated inductor with filled etch includes a substrate of semiconductor material which includes a surface and a cavity disposed therein, a mass of dielectric material disposed within the cavity, a layer of dielectric material disposed upon the mass of dielectric material, and a patterned layer of conductive material disposed upon the layer of dielectric material, such that the integrated inductor is formed without an oxide bridge. Thus, the integrated inductor has a rugged architecture.