Systems and methods for imaging in the short wave infrared (SWIR), photodetectors with low dark current and associated circuits for reducing dark currents and methods for generating image information based on data of a photodetector array. A SWIR imaging system may include a pulsed illumination source operative to emit radiation pulses in the SWIR band towards a target resulting in reflected radiation from the target; (b) an imaging receiver including a plurality of Ge PDs operative to detect the reflected SWIR radiation and a controller, operative to control activation of the receiver for an integration time during which the accumulated dark current noise does not exceed the time independent readout noise.

There is provided an image sensor for exposing a plurality of pixel rows within a frame period using a rolling shutter. The image sensor includes a processor for calculating bright-dark distribution patterns of image frames. The processor further adjusts the frame period to be substantially identical to a predetermined period by changing a total number of exposed line times within the frame period when a difference between the bright-dark distribution patterns of two image frames is larger than a predetermined threshold.

A sensing device, including a plurality of sensing pixels arranged in Y rows and M columns, a plurality of readout lines coupled to the sensing pixels, and a plurality of control lines each coupled to a sensing pixel subset, is provided. The Y times N sensing pixels within the sensing pixel subset are arranged in adjacent N columns, where Y, M and N are integers and N is smaller than M. Each of the control lines is configured to control one row of the sensing pixel subset to output signals through corresponding readout lines.

An analogue to digital converter is provided for digital imaging devices, in which a pixel column is sampled by a respective capacitor.

In a reset phase of operation, each pixel in the row under consideration is reset, and an operational amplifier operating in a voltage follower mode is coupled to all the sampling capacitors in parallel to obtain the reset values of the pixels sensors of that row, and the in an imaging phase of operation, the inverting input of the operational amplifier operating in a comparator mode is coupled to each capacitor in turn after activating the respective pixel sensor, while exposing the non inverting signal to an analog ramp reference voltage so that the timing of the toggling of the operational amplifier reflects the value of the pixel under consideration, corrected for the reset value.

Imagers and associated devices and systems are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, an imager includes a pixel array and control circuitry operably coupled to the pixel array. The pixel array includes an imaging pixel configured to produce a reset signal and a non-imaging pixel configured to produce a nominal reset signal. The control circuity is configured to produce an output signal based at least in part on one of (a) the nominal reset signal when distortion at the imaging pixel exceeds a threshold and (b) the reset signal when distortion does not exceed the threshold.

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to a sensor module. In some aspects, an image sensor module may include an array of photon sensors configured to output a first set of signals corresponding to a set of photon sensors of the array of photon sensors. The set of photon sensors may include a row of photon sensors, or a column of photon sensors, of the array of photon sensors. The image sensor module may include a plurality of data selector components configured to receive the first set of signals and output a second set of signals corresponding to a subset of the set of photon sensors.

The invention concerns a structure of a CMOS active pixel, comprising a semi-conductive substrate (1) of a first type, at least one first photodiode operating in photovoltaic mode comprising a photovoltaic conversion area (2) defined by a doped area of a second type forming a PN junction with the substrate, said first photodiode re-emitting photoelectric charge carriers collected by the PN junction during the exposure of said first photodiode to a light, at least one second photodiode operating in integration mode and reverse-biased, said second photodiode comprising a charge accumulation area (3) defined by a doped area of the second type forming a PN junction with the substrate, said charge accumulation area being exposed to the charge carriers from the photovoltaic conversion area (2) in order to accumulate such charge carriers.

An image pickup apparatus that makes it unnecessary to temporarily stop image pickup performed by an image pickup device to thereby improve operability of the image pickup apparatus, and achieves power saving. In an image pickup apparatus having an electronic viewfinder function, first image signals for live view are acquired by thinning read lines of an image pickup device, and second image signals for AF evaluation value calculation are acquired from the other read lines at a higher speed than the first image signals, for simultaneous output with the first image signals. Reading of the second image signals is started when the state of the object of image data changed or when one photographing mode is changed to another by a user's operation, and is terminated when a reading termination condition set in advance in association with the reading start condition is satisfied.

An image capturing apparatus comprises a unit pixel including a plurality of light receiving elements, a plurality of column output lines provided, for each column, at a number greater than or equal to at least a number of the light receiving elements of each unit pixel, and a switching unit configured to switch between a first readout mode for reading out signals from the plurality of light receiving elements via respectively different column output lines and a second readout mode for reading out signals from the plurality of light receiving elements via the same column output line for each unit pixel.

A solid-state imaging device includes a photodetecting section, a vertical shift register section, first row selection lines, and second row selection lines. The vertical shift register section provides the row selection lines of the m-th row with common row selection signals.