公开(公告)号：US20250081640A1

公开(公告)日：2025-03-06

申请号：US18456659

申请日：2023-08-28

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Cynthia Lee ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Grant

IPC: H01L27/146

Abstract: A pixel circuit including a transistor, a blocking layer and an output circuit is disclosed. The transistor includes a first doped region and a second doped region disposed on opposite sides of a channel of the transistor proximate to a first surface of a semiconductor substrate such that photo-carriers generated inside the semiconductor substrate in response to incident light flow into one region of the first and second doped regions. The blocking layer is disposed between the other region of the first and second doped regions and a second surface of the semiconductor substrate opposite to the first surface. The blocking layer configured to block the photo-carriers from flowing into the other region of the first doped region and the second doped region directly. The output circuit outputs an image signal according to a voltage signal outputted from the transistor.

公开(公告)号：US12289553B2

公开(公告)日：2025-04-29

申请号：US18457015

申请日：2023-08-28

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Alexander Grant

IPC: H04N25/77 ,  H04N25/57 ,  H04N25/63 ,  H10F30/282

Abstract: A pixel circuit includes: a phototransistor configured to receive, by one region of a source and a drain, inflow of photo-carriers generated by light entering a substrate, and configured to output a voltage signal from the one region; and a blocking layer provided on another region of the drain and the source and on a side of a channel far from a surface, and configured to prevent the photo-carriers from directly flowing into the other region. The phototransistor causes a sub-threshold current to flow between the source and the drain in a pinch-off state. Each of the source and the drain of the phototransistor is periodically reset to a reset voltage. The reset voltage is set to a voltage between a voltage at which a dark current of the phototransistor becomes zero and a voltage at which a bias voltage of the phototransistor becomes zero.

公开(公告)号：US20250106533A1

公开(公告)日：2025-03-27

申请号：US18471466

申请日：2023-09-21

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Grant

IPC: H04N25/616 ,  H04N25/65 ,  H04N25/771 ,  H04N25/78

Abstract: A pixel of an image sensor includes a photodiode, a reset transistor, a peak hold transistor, and a first capacitor and a second capacitor. The pixels include, a first mode in which the noise and image output voltages of the photodiode are held in the first and second capacitors, respectively, and a second mode in which the output voltage of the photodiode in a state where the reset transistor is turned on to reset the photodiode is held in the first capacitor or the second capacitor. In the first mode, an image signal corresponding to the light incident amount of the photodiode and a noise signal when the light incident amount is relatively low are obtained. In the second mode, a noise signal when the light incident amount of the photodiode is relatively high is obtained.

公开(公告)号：US20250159372A1

公开(公告)日：2025-05-15

申请号：US18507301

申请日：2023-11-13

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Grant

IPC: H04N25/65 ,  H04N23/745

Abstract: An image sensor includes: a photodiode configured to be reset for each one frame period, to accumulate charges corresponding to incident light for one frame period, and to output an output voltage corresponding to the accumulated charges; and a holding capacitor configured to accumulate charges corresponding to an output signal of the photodiode. The output signal of the photodiode for one frame is integrated, the integrated output signal is accumulated in the holding capacitor, and a first signal is output. After the holding capacitor is refreshed, a voltage corresponding to the output voltage of the photodiode is held in the holding capacitor, and a second signal is output.

公开(公告)号：US12281937B1

公开(公告)日：2025-04-22

申请号：US18542439

申请日：2023-12-15

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Grant

IPC: G01J1/44

Abstract: A pixel circuit includes: a photodiode configured to operate in a photovoltaic mode and to accumulate charges corresponding to an incident light amount; a reset transistor configured to reset the accumulated charges of the photodiode; and a peak hold circuit configured to hold an output corresponding to the accumulated charges of the photodiode, the peak hold circuit including a peak hold transistor connected to an output end of the photodiode, a switching transistor configured to turn on/off an output of the peak hold transistor, and a holding capacitor configured to hold an output of the switching transistor. The peak hold transistor operates in a state where no carrier charge or only one carrier charge is present on a channel.

公开(公告)号：US20250097602A1

公开(公告)日：2025-03-20

申请号：US18463560

申请日：2023-09-20

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Mabuchi Keiji ,  Lindsay Grant

IPC: H04N25/771 ,  H04N25/53 ,  H04N25/62 ,  H04N25/65

Abstract: An image sensor is an image sensor including a plurality of pixels. Each of the pixels includes a photodiode configured to generate charges based on a light incident amount, a reset transistor configured to reset the photodiode by supplying a reset voltage to the photodiode, a first capacitor configured to hold an output voltage of the photodiode immediately after the reset, and a second capacitor configured to hold the output voltage of the photodiode after a predetermined exposure period. An image signal is obtained from the voltage held by the first capacitor and the voltage held by the second capacitor.

公开(公告)号：US20250080876A1

公开(公告)日：2025-03-06

申请号：US18457015

申请日：2023-08-28

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Alexander Grant

IPC: H04N25/77 ,  H04N25/63

Abstract: A pixel circuit includes: a phototransistor configured to receive, by one region of a source and a drain, inflow of photo-carriers generated by light entering a substrate, and configured to output a voltage signal from the one region; and a blocking layer provided on another region of the drain and the source and on a side of a channel far from a surface, and configured to prevent the photo-carriers from directly flowing into the other region. The phototransistor causes a sub-threshold current to flow between the source and the drain in a pinch-off state. Each of the source and the drain of the phototransistor is periodically reset to a reset voltage. The reset voltage is set to a voltage between a voltage at which a dark current of the phototransistor becomes zero and a voltage at which a bias voltage of the phototransistor becomes zero.

公开(公告)号：US20250159373A1

公开(公告)日：2025-05-15

申请号：US18507318

申请日：2023-11-13

Applicant: OmniVision Technologies, Inc.

Inventor： Yoshiyuki Matsunaga ,  Keiji Mabuchi ,  Lindsay Grant

IPC: H04N25/65 ,  H04N23/667 ,  H04N25/771 ,  H04N25/772

Abstract: An image sensor includes a plurality of pixels and includes a photodiode configured to operate in both modes of a linear mode for linearly responding to a light incident amount and a photo-voltaic mode for logarithmically responding to the light incident amount, a source follower circuit configured to output a signal voltage according to a signal generated according to an output of the photodiode, an AD converter configured to convert the signal voltage output from the source follower circuit into digital signal data, a frame memory configured to store signal data of one frame, and a conversion function configured to generate, from signal data of a current frame and signal data of a previous frame, an optical signal relating to the light incident amount.