Patents by Inventor Roger Panicacci

Roger Panicacci has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7372493
    Abstract: An imager having column-wise clamp voltage drivers. Each clamp voltage driver is substantially identical to the output circuitry of the imager's pixels in that column and is designed to track the noise experienced by the readout pixels. Each clamp voltage driver generates and drives the appropriate clamp voltage to store reset and pixel signals in associated column sample and hold circuitry while suppressing the noise typically experienced during the readout process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Patent number: 7369167
    Abstract: A CMOS image pixel array formed on a chip is used for storing programmed information within the pixel array. Manufacturing lot and other data is written to the array during manufacturing and testing by applying a laser to pixels to render the photodiode defective. The programmed data is read from the pixel array using existing circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeff D. Bruce, Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20080074523
    Abstract: An imaging device having pixels that store charge from a photosensor under at least one storage gate during a sampling period. A driver used to operate the at least one storage gate, senses how much charge was transferred to the storage gate and sets a flag in an analog memory (e.g., stores a voltage in a floating diffusion region) based on the amount of sensed charge. The sensed charge is used to determine an integration time for the pixel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2006
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20080074524
    Abstract: An imaging device having pixels that store charge from a photosensor under at least one storage gate during a sampling period. A driver used to operate the at least one storage gate, estimates how much charge in the pixel exceeds a predetermined limit during a non-destructive pixel sensing operation. A specific voltage is stored on the pixel's floating diffusion region to flag how many times the pixel exceeded the limit. The final pixel signal and the stored information is readout at the end of integration period to create a sum that represents the pixel's final signal value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2006
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Patent number: 7286180
    Abstract: A system of reducing power consumption in and active pixels sensor. The sensor is broken into different blocks, and each of the blocks is individually optimized. The optimization may include minimizing the parasitic capacitance on the readout bus, turning off biases when not in use, and operating in a way that minimizes static power consumption of different elements such as A/D converters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sandor L. Barna, Giuseppe Rossi, Kwang-Bo Cho, Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20070165123
    Abstract: An imaging device that stores charge from a photosensor under at least one storage gate. A driver used to operate the at least one storage gate, senses how much charge was transferred to the storage gate. The sensed charge is used to obtain at least one signature of the image scene. The at least one signature may then be used for processing such as e.g., motion detection, auto-exposure, and auto-white balancing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2006
    Publication date: July 19, 2007
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Patent number: 7245321
    Abstract: A CMOS imager includes an array of active pixel sensors, wherein each pixel is associated with a respective column in the array. The imager also includes multiple circuits for reading out values of pixels from the active sensor array. Each readout circuit can be associated with a respective pair of columns in the array and can include first and second sample-and-hold circuits. The first and second sample-and-hold circuits are associated, respectively, with first and second columns of pixels in the array. Each readout circuit also includes an operational amplifier-based charge sensing circuit that selectively provides an amplified differential output signal based on signals sampled either by the first sample-and-hold circuit or the second sample-and-hold circuit. The readout circuit also has an analog-to-digital converter for converting the differential output to a corresponding digital signal using a successive approximation technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger Panicacci, Barmak Mansoorian, Sandor Barna, Alexander I. Krymski
  • Publication number: 20060197857
    Abstract: A system of reducing power consumption in and active pixels sensor. The sensor is broken into different blocks, and each of the blocks is individually optimized. The optimization may include minimizing the parasitic capacitance on the readout bus, turning off biases when not in use, and operating in a way that minimizes static power consumption of different elements such as A/D converters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2006
    Publication date: September 7, 2006
    Inventors: Sandor Barna, Guiseppe Rossi, Kwang-Bo Cho, Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20060187329
    Abstract: An imaging device with readout chain circuitry that uses cascaded gain stages to amplify pixel and reset signals from odd and even columns of pixels. The readout chain shares amplifiers between odd and even channels. The last stage of the chain includes noise suppression circuitry designed to suppress kTC and amplifier thermal noise during the readout process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2005
    Publication date: August 24, 2006
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Patent number: 7068319
    Abstract: A system of reducing power consumption in and active pixels sensor. The sensor is broken into different blocks, and each of the blocks is individually optimized. The optimization may include minimizing the parasitic capacitance on the readout bus, turning off biases when not in use, and operating in a way that minimizes static power consumption of different elements such as A/D converters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sandor L. Barna, Guiseppe Rossi, Kwang-Bo Cho, Roger Panicacci
  • Patent number: 7002628
    Abstract: An analog-to-digital converter in an active pixel sensor array includes on board memory elements for storing results. The stored results can be read out in a different order than the order in which they were converted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20060007337
    Abstract: An imager having two panels of pixels (i.e., the imager's rows of pixels are split into two panels) that are controllable by separate row decoders. The dual panel architecture allows pipelining of pixel readout and column readout operations to improve the imager's frame rate. The dual panel architecture may use a standard pixel configuration, a shared column and/or a shared row and column configuration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2004
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20060007329
    Abstract: An imager having column-wise clamp voltage drivers. Each clamp voltage driver is substantially identical to the output circuitry of the imager's pixels in that column and is designed to track the noise experienced by the readout pixels. Each clamp voltage driver generates and drives the appropriate clamp voltage to store reset and pixel signals in associated column sample and hold circuitry while suppressing the noise typically experienced during the readout process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2004
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventor: Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20050243193
    Abstract: An imager having special light shielded, optically black pixels in each row of the imager's pixel array. Ideally, the optically black pixels should only output black pixel and reset signals. Since the optically black pixels of each row experience the same row-wise noise as the active pixels in the associated row, the optically black signals are used as reference signals to cancel out the row-wise noise, from reset and pixel signals, seen in a particular row.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Publication date: November 3, 2005
    Inventors: Bob Gove, Sandor Barna, Siri Eikedal, Scott Smith, Mike Malone, Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20050195314
    Abstract: Automatic exposure adjusting device considers the image on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Each pixel is characterized according to its most significant bits. After the pixels are characterized, the number of pixels in any particular group is counted. That counting is compared with thresholds which set whether the image is over exposed, under exposed, and can optionally also determine if the image is seriously over exposed or seriously under exposed. Adjustment of the exposure is carried out to bring the image to a more desired state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2005
    Publication date: September 8, 2005
    Inventors: Eric Fossum, Alexander Krymski, Roger Panicacci, Christopher Clark
  • Publication number: 20050195645
    Abstract: A CMOS imager includes an array of active pixel sensors, wherein each pixel is associated with a respective column in the array. The imager also includes multiple circuits for reading out values of pixels from the active sensor array. Each readout circuit can be associated with a respective pair of columns in the array and can include first and second sample-and-hold circuits. The first and second sample-and-hold circuits are associated, respectively, with first and second columns of pixels in the array. Each readout circuit also includes an operational amplifier-based charge sensing circuit that selectively provides an amplified differential output signal based on signals sampled either by the first sample-and-hold circuit or the second sample-and-hold circuit. The readout circuit also has an analog-to-digital converter for converting the differential output to a corresponding digital signal using a successive approximation technique.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2005
    Publication date: September 8, 2005
    Inventors: Roger Panicacci, Barmak Mansoorian, Sandor Barna, Alexander Krymski
  • Patent number: 6885396
    Abstract: A CMOS imager includes an array of active pixel sensors, wherein each pixel is associated with a respective column in the array. The imager also includes multiple circuits for reading out values of pixels from the active sensor array. Each readout circuit can be associated with a respective pair of columns in the array and can include first and second sample-and-hold circuits. The first and second sample-and-hold circuits are associated, respectively, with first and second columns of pixels in the array. Each readout circuit also includes an operational amplifier-based charge sensing circuit that selectively provides an amplified differential output signal based on signals sampled either by the first sample-and-hold circuit or the second sample-and-hold circuit. The readout circuit also has an analog-to-digital converter for converting the differential output to a corresponding digital signal using a successive approximation technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger Panicacci, Barmak Mansoorian, Sandor Barna, Alexander I. Krymski
  • Publication number: 20040239789
    Abstract: A CMOS image pixel array formed on a chip is used for storing programmed information within the pixel array. Manufacturing lot and other data is written to the array during manufacturing and testing by applying a laser to pixels to render the photodiode defective. The programmed data is read from the pixel array using existing circuitry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2003
    Publication date: December 2, 2004
    Inventors: Jeff D. Bruce, Roger Panicacci
  • Patent number: 6611288
    Abstract: Bad pixels areas in an optical device are investigated and corrected. An upper limit on the number of bad areas is defined. Each bad area can be one, or more than one pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric R. Fossum, Nick Doudoumopoulos, Roger Panicacci
  • Publication number: 20030146991
    Abstract: A system of reducing power consumption in and active pixels sensor. The sensor is broken into different blocks, and each of the blocks is individually optimized. The optimization may include minimizing the parasitic capacitance on the readout bus, turning off biases when not in use, and operating in a way that minimizes static power consumption of different elements such as A/D converters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2002
    Publication date: August 7, 2003
    Inventors: Sandor L. Barna, Guiseppe Rossi, Kwang-Bo Cho, Roger Panicacci