A wide dynamic range CMOS image sensor with dual charge storage in a pixel and a multiple sampling technique

Suhaidi Shafie; Shoji Kawahito

doi:10.1117/12.767252

29 February 2008 A wide dynamic range CMOS image sensor with dual charge storage in a pixel and a multiple sampling technique

Suhaidi Shafie, Shoji Kawahito

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6816, Sensors, Cameras, and Systems for Industrial/Scientific Applications IX; 681606 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.767252
Event: Electronic Imaging, 2008, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

This paper presents a dynamic range expansion technique of CMOS image sensors with dual charge storage in a pixel and multiple exposures. Each pixel contains two photodiodes, PD1 and PD2 whose sensitivity can be set independently by the accumulation time. The difference of charge accumulation time in both photodiode can be manipulated to expand the dynamic range of the sensor. It allows flexible control of the dynamic range since the accumulation time in PD2 is adjustable. The multiple exposure technique used in the sensor reduces the motion blur in the synthesized wide dynamic range image when capturing fast-moving objects. It also reduces the signal-to-nose ratio dip at the switching point of the PD1 signal to the PD2 signals in the synthesized wide dynamic range image. A wide dynamic range camera with 320x240 pixels image sensor has been tested. It is found that the sampling of 4 times for the short accumulation time signals is sufficient for the reduction of motion blur in the synthesized wide dynamic range image, and the signal-to-noise ratio dip at the switching point of the PD1 signal to the PD2 signal is improved by 6 dB using 4 short-time exposures.

Citation Download Citation

Suhaidi Shafie and Shoji Kawahito "A wide dynamic range CMOS image sensor with dual charge storage in a pixel and a multiple sampling technique", Proc. SPIE 6816, Sensors, Cameras, and Systems for Industrial/Scientific Applications IX, 681606 (29 February 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.767252

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available