Abstract: The object of the present invention is to reduce the line distance between light receiving elements for three colors of RGB of a color linear image sensor to reduce the required storage capacity for an external memory. The color linear image sensor is constructed such that a charge transfer element is disposed between each two adjacent light receiving elements of three rows and a charge read-out element is disposed between each charge transfer element and each of the light receiving elements on the opposite sides of the charge transfer element such that, when signal charges from the light receiving elements for different colors are to be transferred, each of the character transfer elements is used commonly and time divisionally by the centrally located light receiving elements and the light receiving elements on each of the opposite sides of the centrally located light receiving elements.

Abstract: A linear image sensor includes N arrays of photoelectric converting pixels, wherein N is an even integer at least equal to 2. Each array is formed by arranging, with a predetermined pixel pitch in a first direction of the array, a plurality of pixels, and each of the pixels is so shaped that the area per unit length of the pixel decreases progressively from the center of the pixel both in the first direction of the array and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The N arrays themselves are provided with a mutual distance from each other of M/2 times the pixel pitch in the second direction and are mutually displaced by 1/N of the pixel pitch in the first direction so as to form a mutually interpolating arrangement, wherein M is a positive integer equal to at least 1 and wherein M and N are independent of each other.

Abstract: Image transduction device pixel cells are described which have analog memory integrated with the pixel transduction elements and arrays made from such pixel cells. The integrated pixel cells are capable of storing information which, for example, can achieve a desired transduction transfer function for a given pixel transduction element. While the present invention may be used with any type of continuously variable, settable, and nonvolatile analog memory, the analog memory is beneficially based on a ferroelectric gate transistor comprised of an amorphous silicon transistor integrated with a ferroelectric gate dielectric layer or an amorphous silicon transistor with a charge storage dielectric gate layer.

Abstract: An imaging device formed as a monolithic complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit in an industry standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor process, the integrated circuit including a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photogate overlying the substrate for accumulating photo-generated charge in an underlying portion of the substrate and a charge coupled device section formed on the substrate adjacent the photogate having a sensing node and at least one charge coupled device stage for transferring charge from the underlying portion of the substrate to the sensing node. There is also a readout circuit, part of which can be disposed at the bottom of each column of cells and be common to all the cells in the column. The imaging device can also include an electronic shutter formed on the substrate adjacent the photogate, and/or a storage section to allow for simultaneous integration.

Abstract: A charge/voltage conversion device of a CCD type charge transfer read register comprises a read diode and a read amplifier, wherein the read amplifier comprises a first amplification stage enabling the conversion, into current variations (.DELTA.I), of the voltage variations (.DELTA.Vg) collected at the terminals of the read diode and a second amplification stage enabling a reading to be made of said current variations. The disclosed device can be applied especially to photosensitive devices enabling the conversion of a light image into an electrical signal.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of equalizing a first and second charge packet. The apparatus includes a charge splitter for splitting the first charge packet into a third charge packet on the first side of the charge splitter and a fourth charge packet on the second side of the charge splitter. The second charge component is split into a fifth charge component on the first side of the charge splitter and a sixth charge component on the second side of the charge splitter. The apparatus includes a charge combiner for adding the third and sixth charge packets and the fourth and fifth charge packets.

Abstract: In a two-dimensional CCD image sensor, vertical transfer channels (6) are arranged to receive charge packets from a matrix array of photodiodes (1), and row electrodes (3) are connected to the vertical transfer channels for shifting the charge packets row by row along the vertical transfer channels. A horizontal transfer channel (14) has stages for receiving charge packets from corresponding vertical transfer channels (6). Each stage of the horizontal transfer channel is formed with first and second sets of a storage region (A1; A2) and two barrier regions (B1, C1; B2, C2) each. For each stage, a group of first, second, third and fourth adjoining electrodes (27, 28, 29, 30) is provided, the first and second electrodes being connected to receive a first phase clock pulse and the third and fourth electrodes being connected to receive a second, opposite phase clock pulse.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for converting light images into a series of charge stores that are output in predetermined subsections is described. An integrated circuit is provided having multiple light sensitive elements embedded on its surface. These light sensitive elements are coupled to the input gates of a series of charge-coupled devices that can be clocked in a manner that allows various charge stores created by the light sensitive elements to be sampled. The charge coupled devices are configured in a manner that causes the charge stores created by the light sensitive elements to be extracted in an order that corresponds to rows of subsections of an image.

Abstract: An image sensing device having an array of photodetectors capable of generating electron/hole pairs from incident photons, with multiple charge coupled devices organized in a tandem well design that employs multiple storage wells per pixel. The wells use thresholds to control the overflow of charge from one well to the next and are arranged such that a first charge coupled device having a plurality of cells is operatively coupled to the photodetectors by first transfer means for placing charge accumulated within the photodetectors from generated electron/hole pairs within the first charge coupled device, and a second charge coupled device having a plurality of cells being operatively coupled to the first charge coupled device by second transfer means for removing charge exceeding a predetermined threshold within the first charge coupled device and placing charge exceeding the predetermined threshold within the second charge coupled device.

Abstract: A color CCD solid-state image pickup device having a color filter array such that it is not possible to mix pixels adjacent in the column direction. Even rows and odd rows of pixels arrayed in a matrix respectively have the same filter arrays and it is thereby made possible for signal charges of light-receiving parts in pixels of a Kth row (K being a positive integer) and signal charges of light-receiving parts in pixels of either of the K.+-.th rows to be mixed and vertically transferred in the vertical shift registers.

Abstract: Image transduction device pixel cells are described which have analog memory integrated with the pixel transduction elements and arrays made from such pixel cells. The integrated pixel cells are capable of storing information which, for example, can achieve a desired transduction transfer function for a given pixel transduction element. While the present invention may be used with any type of continuously variable, settable, and nonvolatile analog memory, the analog memory is beneficially based on a ferroelectric gate transistor comprised of an amorphous silicon transistor integrated with a ferroelectric gate dielectric layer or an amorphous silicon transistor with a charge storage dielectric gate layer.

Abstract: A linear sensor for sampling vertically opposed pixels of a plurality of vertically arranged sensor rows substantially at a time. A plurality of horizontal transfer registers and a plurality of shift gates are provided to oppose the plurality of sensor rows. A vertical transfer register is provided at one end of the plurality of horizontal transfer registers. In the vertical transfer register, the signal charges which have been transferred by the plurality of horizontal transfer registers are transferred sequentially in vertical direction. A charge/voltage converter unit is provided at the output of the vertical transfer register. The signal charges accumulated in the vertically opposed pixels are sequentially transferred to the charge/voltage converter unit in a repetitive manner.

Abstract: A multiple-frame image sensor comprising a full-frame CCD sensor of two-story construction having an overlying photosensitive layer that converts input radiation to electric charge and an underlying CCD structure which functions to collect and store the charge for read-out of more than one charge packet per pixel, with the pixels being of minimum size. The sensor structure is rendered capable of handling more than one photosignal charge packet per pixel in an area-efficient way through the use of ripple clocking, so that in a preferred embodiment a 4-poly, 7-phase ripple-clocked vertical CCD register is fabricated with 7 gates, one of which is run vertically to create openings, e.g., between the 1 and 6 gates, that pass electrode contacts to N+ sources in the channel stops of the register to form photosignal charge packets in the region between the stops. The ripple-gating controls the movement of the charge packets for storage along the CCD channel until 3 charge packet read-out.

Abstract: The solid-state image sensor device includes a photodiode section having a storage region of a second conductivity type and a surface layer of a first conductivity type, a vertical CCD register having a buried layer of the second conductivity type and a plurality of transfer electrodes, and a transfer gate having a transfer gate electrode. A channel control region of the second conductivity type is provided on a surface of the semiconductor substrate region covered by the transfer gate. With the channel control region of the second conductivity type provided at a surface portion of the semiconductor substrate region of the transfer gate, the charge read-out channel for reading out charge from the storage region into the buried layer may be readily formed. Thus, it is possible to reduce the read-out voltage or reduce the gate length of the transfer gate.

Abstract: An electronic imaging system for capturing an image comprising a lens and an imaging sensor. The lens produces an optical image. The imaging sensor has a surface in optical communication with the lens, for converting the optical image into a corresponding output signal. The imaging sensor includes a plurality of imaging elements, the plurality of imaging elements having a distribution on the surface representable by a nonlinear function. The distribution of imaging elements has a relatively low density at a center point of the surface and a relatively high density at a point along a periphery of the surface.

Abstract: A CCD type charge-transfer photosensitive device (Z1) comprises a photosensitive zone (Z2) formed by at least one line of pixels and designed for the conversion, into electrical charges, of the photons coming from an image and a non-photosensitive zone designed to remove the charges generated in the photosensitive zone and comprising a read register (RL) consisting of transfer stages (ET), the charges generated in a pixel of the photosensitive zone (Z1) being collected in a transfer stage of the read register, wherein the read register (RL) is formed by Q elementary sub-registers Rj (j=1, 2, . . . , Q), each elementary sub-register being formed by a whole number Mj of transfer stages (ET) enabling the transfer of the charges from the first-order stage up to the M order stage, M possibly being different for two different elementary sub-registers, and a read diode located in the M order transfer stage so as convert the variations of charges collected at the terminals of the diode into voltage variations.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of equalizing a first and second charge packet. The apparatus includes a charge splitter for splitting the first charge packet into a third charge packet on the first side of the charge splitter and a fourth charge packet on the second side of the charge splitter. The second charge component is split into a fifth charge component on the first side of the charge splitter and a sixth charge component on the second side of the charge splitter. The apparatus includes a charge combinet for adding the third and sixth charge packets and the fourth and fifth charge packets.

Abstract: A color linear image sensor apparatus includes a wiring conductor formed of a first level polysilicon film which is provided on a channel stopper in photocell arrays and which is connected to a first transfer gate electrode of a CCD register. The first transfer gate electrode is also connected to a second transfer gate electrode through a contact hole. Thus, even if the wiring conductor is formed on the channel stopper in the photocell array, a dead zone for locating a wiring conductor for the driving clocks becomes unnecessary, and accordingly, the distance between photocell arrays can be shortened to two thirds to a half of the distance in the conventional examples.

Abstract: A technique for automatically focusing the lens of an electronic still camera employs a progressive scan image sensor 20 with a fast dump structure 62. The image sensor 20 itself is operated first in a "fast flush " mode to focus a lens 22, and then in a normal readout mode to obtain the final still image. To focus the lens 22, an image is integrated on the sensor 20. The average contrast of a central region 66 of the image is used to determine how well the image is focused. The portion of the image surrounding a central focusing area 66 is rapidly read out and discarded, using "fast flush" clocking where the vertical and horizontal registers are continuously clocked and lines of image charge are dumped to the substrate through the fast dump structure 62. In the central focusing area 66, a pattern of lines are eliminated through the fast dump structure 62, and the intervening lines are transferred out to generate a focus adjustment signal.

Abstract: An image sensor includes an element array consisting of a plurality of charge-coupled elements, a charge transfer unit for transferring a charge stored in the element array along a transfer path, a branch transfer unit, having a plurality of branch transfer paths, for selectively outputting on one branch transfer path at least part of the charge transferred through the transfer path of the charge transfer unit, and a plurality of amplifying units, arranged at output stages of the plurality of branch transfer paths of the branch transfer unit, for amplifying the transferred charge with different gains and outputting the amplified charges.

Abstract: A charge coupled device image sensor which can prevent smear and improve sensitivity, including a substrate of a first conductive type, a first well of a second conductive type formed on one side of said substrate, a second well of the second conductive type formed on the other side of said substrate, a pair of photo-detecting areas formed adjoining in said first well, a pair of charge transfer areas formed close to each photo-detecting area and adjoining in said second well, a channel stop area formed between said adjoining photo-detecting areas and said charge transfer areas and for isolating each of the areas,.

Abstract: A solid-state image-sensor comprises a sensor, a charge transfer part, a plurality of charge/voltage converters, a comparator and a detector. The sensor has a plurality of arrayed light-receiving portions, with each light-receiving portion converting incident light into a signal charge corresponding to the amount of incident light and accumulating the signal charges. The charge transfer part distributes between at least two systems the signal charge stored at one light-receiving portion part of the sensor and transferring the signal charge using different numbers of stages. The plurality of charge/voltage converters detect and convert into voltages the signal charges of the at least two systems transferred by the charge transfer part. The comparator carries out a level conversion on each of the outputs of the plurality of charge/voltage converters and the detector detects the level transition point of the comparator output signal and generates a binary signal.

Abstract: An electronic apparatus for converting an optical image of an object into a digital representation of this optical image is described. The apparatus comprises a cartridge having a first portion through which light emitted from a visible image of an object enters into the cartridge, which comprises a two-dimensional array of focusing elements, each of which having a field of vision intersecting a given area of the visible image. Adjacent ones of these focusing elements have fields of vision intersecting common portions of the visible image, whereby substantially the entirety of the visible image is covered by combined fields of vision of the focusing elements. The cartridge further comprises a two-dimensional array of optical sensors arrays, each of which being optically associated with a respective one of the focusing elements. These optical sensors arrays produce groups of analog pixel signals representing partial images associated with corresponding areas of the visible image.

Abstract: In a hard-copy scanner in which a set of photosensitive silicon chips are abutted to form a single page-width array of photosensors, the photosites at the critical ends of each chip are specially shaped to ensure an even spacing of all photosites along the array, taking into account imprecisions in the dimensions of individual chips. The special shape of the end photosite is trapezoidal or a variation of trapezoidal.

Abstract: A linear sensor for sampling vertically opposed pixels of a plurality of vertically arranged sensor rows substantially at a time. A plurality of horizontal transfer registers and a plurality of shift gates are provided to oppose the plurality of sensor rows. A vertical transfer register is provided at one end of the plurality of horizontal transfer registers. In the vertical transfer register, the signal charges which have been transferred by the plurality of horizontal transfer registers are transferred sequentially in vertical direction. A charge/voltage converter unit is provided at the output of the vertical transfer register. The signal charges accumulated in the vertically opposed pixels are sequentially transferred to the charge/voltage converter unit in a repetitive manner.

Abstract: An inter-line, back-illuminated, solid state imaging device having a large active area. Metal signal lines providing driving signals to gate electrodes of vertical CCD shift-registers are disposed in front of radiation sensors. The metal signal lines can serve as metal mirrors for increasing the amount of usable radiation. At the gap portion of the metal signal lines, a second metal mirror can be provided. Alternatively, the dimension of the gap is smaller than the lowest wavelength of the band wavelength of the radiation to be detected. When a metal mirror is provided separately form the metal signal line group, the metal mirror can serve as a shield of the photoelectric conversion layer from the driving signal.

Abstract: A graphics data unit (17) for a digital television receiver (10) that uses a spatial light modulator (16). The graphics data unit (17) has a graphics processor (22), which offloads graphics processing tasks, such as for closed captioning and on-screen display, from a main processor (14). The graphics data unit (17) also has a character memory (24), which stores fonts for closed caption and on-screen display characters. A read-only memory (22a) stores graphics primitives. The character fonts and the graphics primitives may be adapted to compensate for staggered pixel layouts of the spatial light modulator (16).

Abstract: A wide-angle lens produces a distorted wide-angle optical image. An imaging sensor, having a surface in optical communication with the wide-angle lens, converts the wide-angle optical image into a corresponding output signal. The imaging sensor includes a plurality of imaging elements. The plurality of imaging elements have a distribution on the surface of the sensor that is representable by a nonlinear function, wherein the distribution of the imaging elements corrects the distortion in the wide-angle image.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a charge transfer device having a four-phase drive system register in which first, second, third and fourth transfer sections sequentially arrayed constitute one bit. The first, second, third and fourth transfer sections are arranged such that, when applied with drive pulses of the same level, a potential difference occurs between the first and third transfer sections and the second and fourth transfer sections.

Abstract: Circuits and systems embodying the invention include an image sensor comprising an array of "M" photo sensing elements arranged in "R" rows and "C" columns, where R and C are integers greater than one and R times C is equal to M. Coupled to each one of the photo sensing elements is a storage register functioning as a local memory, with each storage register comprising N storage elements, where N may range from a few to several hundred (or even several thousand) storage elements. Each photo sensing element is coupled to its associated N storage elements for selectively enabling the high speed transfer of photo information from each photo sensing element to its associated N storage elements during a photo data acquisition phase.

Abstract: A charge coupled device image sensor is comprised of an imaging section including a plurality of photoelectric converting sections arrayed in a matrix configuration for generating signal charges and a plurality of horizontal shift registers arranged between the horizontal rows of the photoelectric converting sections for transferring the signal charges via a readout section in the horizontal direction, a storage section having a plurality of horizontal shift registers for transferring the signal charges in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction line by line, a readout section coupled to the storage section and including a plurality of horizontal shift registers for reading out signal charges from the storage section, and a serial-to-parallel converting section provided between the imaging section and the storage section for storing one-line of signal charges from the imaging section into double-line of image signal.