An image sensor including: a plurality of pixels each including a photodiode coupled to first and second capacitive elements by first and second transistors; a control circuit provided to acquire, for each pixel, a first and second value V_S and V_M representative of illumination levels of the photodiode during the first second periods, the first period being divided into a plurality of first sub-periods and the second period being divided into a plurality of second sub-periods, the first and second sub-periods sub-periods being interlaced; and a sum circuit capable of calculating, for each pixel, a value V_MS=C_S*V_S+C_M*V_M, C_S et C_M being first and second coefficients such that values C_S*V_S and C_M*V_M are substantially equal when the illumination of the photodiode is continuous.

The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging device and an electronic apparatus that enable simultaneous acquisition of a signal for generating a high dynamic range image and a signal for detecting a phase difference.

The solid-state imaging device includes a plurality of pixel sets each including color filters of the same color, for a plurality of colors, each pixel set including a plurality of pixels. Each pixel includes a plurality of photodiodes PD. The present technology can be applied, for example, to a solid-state imaging device that generates a high dynamic range image and detects a phase difference, and the like.

A system for HDR image capture is configurable to perform a split long exposure operation by applying a first set of long exposure shutter operations to configure each SPAD pixel of the SPAD array to enable photon detection and applying a second set of long exposure shutter operations to configure each SPAD pixel of the SPAD array to enable photon detection. A time period intervenes between the first and second sets of long exposure shutter. The system is configurable to perform a short exposure operation by applying a set of short exposure shutter operations to configure each SPAD pixel of the SPAD array to enable photon detection. The short exposure operation occurs during the time period that intervenes between the first and second sets of long exposure shutter operations. The system is also configurable to generate an image based on the split long exposure operation and the short exposure operation.

A method, apparatus and system are described providing a high dynamic range pixel. An integration period has multiple sub-integration periods during which charges are accumulated in a photosensor and repeatedly transferred to a storage node, where the charges are accumulated for later transfer to another storage node for output.

A vehicle camera system includes a camera that includes an image sensor, a filter mask, and a control and evaluation device, to which the image sensor outputs an image signal with frames that correspond to different exposure times. The image sensor includes an arrangement of sensor pixels outputting pixel signals, and the filter mask includes an arrangement of filter pixels situated in front of respective ones of the sensor pixels, where different filter pixels have different transmission behavior. The control and evaluation device compares to each other pixel signals (a) contained in the frames of different exposure times, and (b) output by sensor pixels which record light filtered differently by the filter pixels.

When imaging bright objects, a conventional detector array can saturate, making it difficult to produce an image with a dynamic range that equals the scene's dynamic range. Conversely, a digital focal plane array (DFPA) with one or more m-bit counters can produce an image whose dynamic range is greater than the native dynamic range. In one example, the DFPA acquires a first image over a relatively brief integration period at a relatively low gain setting. The DFPA then acquires a second image over longer integration period and/or a higher gain setting. During this second integration period, counters may roll over, possibly several times, to capture a residue modulus 2.sup.m of the number of counts (as opposed to the actual number of counts). A processor in or coupled to the DFPA generates a high-dynamic range image based on the first image and the residues modulus 2.sup.m.

A method and apparatus for capturing an image sequence using a capsule camera are disclosed. According to the present invention, a first energy-based frame time for the special images is determined based on first light energy perceived by the image sensor and a second energy-based frame time for the regular images is determined based on second light energy perceived by the image sensor. The capsule camera captures the image sequence comprising one or more sets of mixed-type images by configuring the capsule camera to cause a mixed-frame distance between the first energy-based frame time for one special image in a target set of mixed-type images and the second energy-based frame time for one regular image in the target set of mixed-type images smaller than an average frame period.

An imaging system includes an image sensor configured to capture a sequence of images including at least one low dynamic range (LDR) image and at least one high dynamic range (HDR) image. The imaging system also includes readout circuitry. The readout circuitry is coupled to read out image data captured by the image sensor. A processor is coupled to the readout circuitry to receive image data corresponding to the at least one LDR image and image data corresponding to the at least one HDR image. The processor is configured to combine high frequency image data extracted from image data corresponding to the at least one LDR image with low frequency image data extracted from image data corresponding to the at least one HDR image to form a composite image.

A method of providing blooming protection to a CMOS imager having a pixel array of a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns, where the CMOS imager is operable to capture high dynamic range images using a rolling shutter, is provided. Such a method can include reading out charge accumulated by the pixels in a readout row of a first integration time, applying a reset to the readout row for a reset time sufficient to allow readout and reset to occur in at least one subsequent row, and starting a second integration time of the pixels in the readout row, wherein the second integration time is shorter than the first integration time, and wherein the at least one subsequent row is a sufficient number of rows to have a combined reset to preclude blooming effects from the pixel array during the second integration time.

Imaging methods and devices with pixels divided into pixel groups are disclosed. A pixel group-based global shutter and pixel group-wise staggered long and short exposure followed by readout of two samples per pixel are presented. Example methods and devices for a Bayer color filter array divided into groups of n×n pixels are provided.