A light control device 10 includes a pair of electrodes 611 and 612 and a stacked structure body 613 of a plurality of light control layers 613 sandwiched by the pair of electrodes 611 and 612; and each light control layer 613 has a stacked structure of a first insulating layer 614, a first nanocarbon film 615 doped with an n-type impurity or not doped with an impurity, a second insulating layer 617, and a second nanocarbon film 616 doped with a p-type impurity or not doped with an impurity.

The present disclosure relates to an image pickup device that enables inhibition of occurrence of color mixture or noise, and an electronic apparatus. The image pickup device of the present disclosure includes an image plane phase difference detection pixel for obtaining a phase difference signal for image plane phase difference AF. The image plane phase difference detection pixel includes: a first photoelectric conversion section that generates an electric charge in response to incident light; an upper electrode section that is one of electrodes disposed facing each other across the first photoelectric conversion section, the upper electrode section being formed on an incident side of the incident light on the first photoelectric conversion section; and a lower electrode section that is another of the electrodes disposed facing each other across the first photoelectric conversion section, the lower electrode section being formed on an opposite side of the incident side of the incident light on the first photoelectric conversion section, the lower electrode section being multiple-divided at a position that avoids a center of the incident light. The present disclosure is applicable to image sensors.

An image processing device includes: an image sensor configured to generate first image data by using a color filter array; and processing circuitry configured to select a processing mode from a plurality of processing modes for the first image data, the selecting being based on information about the first image data; generate second image data by reconstructing the first image data using a neural network processor based on the processing mode; and generate third image data by post-processing the second image data apart from the neural network processor based on the processing mode.

Visibility of a license plate and color reproducibility of a vehicle body are improved in a monitoring camera. A vehicle body area detection unit detects a vehicle body area of a vehicle from an image signal. A license plate area detection unit detects a license plate area of the vehicle from the image signal. A vehicle body area image processing unit performs processing of the image signal corresponding to the detected vehicle body area. A license plate area image processing unit performs processing different from the processing of the image signal corresponding to the vehicle body area on the image signal corresponding to the detected license plate area. A synthesis unit synthesizes the processed image signal corresponding to the vehicle body area and the processed image signal corresponding to the license plate area.

Visibility of a license plate and color reproducibility of a vehicle body are improved in a monitoring camera. A vehicle body area detection unit detects a vehicle body area of a vehicle from an image signal. A license plate area detection unit detects a license plate area of the vehicle from the image signal. A vehicle body area image processing unit performs processing of the image signal corresponding to the detected vehicle body area. A license plate area image processing unit performs processing different from the processing of the image signal corresponding to the vehicle body area on the image signal corresponding to the detected license plate area. A synthesis unit synthesizes the processed image signal corresponding to the vehicle body area and the processed image signal corresponding to the license plate area.

The present disclosure relates to an image pickup device that enables inhibition of occurrence of color mixture or noise, and an electronic apparatus. The image pickup device of the present disclosure includes an image plane phase difference detection pixel for obtaining a phase difference signal for image plane phase difference AF. The image plane phase difference detection pixel includes: a first photoelectric conversion section that generates an electric charge in response to incident light; an upper electrode section that is one of electrodes disposed facing each other across the first photoelectric conversion section, the upper electrode section being formed on an incident side of the incident light on the first photoelectric conversion section; and a lower electrode section that is another of the electrodes disposed facing each other across the first photoelectric conversion section, the lower electrode section being formed on an opposite side of the incident side of the incident light on the first photoelectric conversion section, the lower electrode section being multiple-divided at a position that avoids a center of the incident light. The present disclosure is applicable to image sensors.

Methods, systems, and devices for image processing are described. A device may capture image data based on a color filter array (CFA) associated with an image sensor. The image data may include a set of pixels. The device may determine a CFA pattern of the CFA and select a configuration appropriately. The configuration may include an indication of a first set of neighboring pixels for each pixel of the set of pixels to use to determine that a pixel is defective and a second set of neighboring pixels for each pixel of the set of pixels to use to correct the defective pixel. The device may determine that the pixel of the set of pixels is defective using the configuration, and correct the defective pixel using pixel values of the first set of neighboring pixels, or pixel values of the second set of neighboring pixels, or both.

An imaging device may have an array of image sensor pixels. The array of image sensor pixels may have main pixels and reference pixels that are overlapped by optical stacks. The reference pixels may be more resistant to weathering, such as solar degradation, than the main pixels. For example, optical stacks overlapping the main pixels may include antireflection coatings, while optical stacks overlapping the reference pixels may not include antireflection coatings. Alternatively or additionally, the optical stacks overlapping the main pixels may include color filter resist formed from a first pigment, and the optical stacks overlapping the reference pixels may include color filter resist formed from a second pigment that is more resistant to weathering than the first pigment. Processing circuitry may compare outputs of the main pixels and the reference pixels to determine whether pixels in the array have been damaged.

A method, an image processing apparatus, and computer program product for multilevel bilateral noise filtering of digital images are provided. The method includes receiving from an image sensor an image frame including a color mosaic having a color filter array (CFA) pattern, decomposing the image frame into at least one color plane image for each of a plurality of color planes, sequentially and separately reducing noise in the at least one color plane image by performing multilevel bilateral noise filtering of the at least one color plane image, and reconstructing the at least one color plane image to generate a noise filtered image frame.

A solid-state imaging device includes a semiconductor substrate; and a pixel unit having a plurality of pixels on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the pixel unit includes first pixel groups having two or more pixels and second pixel groups being different from the first pixel groups, wherein a portion of the pixels in the first pixel groups and a portion of the pixels in the second pixel groups share a floating diffusion element.