A time-of-flight image sensor is disclosed. The time-of-flight image sensor includes an array of pixels. Each pixel of the array of pixels includes a first photogate, a second photogate adjacent the first photogate, an isolation barrier intermediate the first photogate and the second photogate, and an in-pixel ground node intermediate the first photogate and the second photogate.

A system is provided for time delay integration in complementary metal oxide semiconductor imaging sensors, the system comprising: a two dimensional parallel charge transfer structure comprising at least one column of CMOS Image sensor pinned photodiodes; each the diode in the column being connected to the next the diode by a two phase transfer gate, each the transfer gate having a barrier and a well configured such that a flow of charge in the column is unidirectional.

The present technology relates to a light receiving element, a distance measurement module, and an electronic device that enable signal degradation during charge transfer to be reduced. The light receiving element includes a pixel at least including: a first charge holding unit and a second charge holding unit each of which holds an electric charge generated by a photodiode; a first transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge to the first charge holding unit; and a second transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge to the second charge holding unit, in which the first and second transfer transistors each include a vertical transistor including a vertical gate electrode portion. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a light receiving element that performs distance measurement by an indirect ToF method, and the like.

A photo-detecting apparatus is provided. The photo-detecting apparatus includes: a substrate made by a first material or a first material-composite; an absorption layer made by a second material or a second material-composite, the absorption layer being supported by the substrate and the absorption layer including: a first surface; a second surface arranged between the first surface and the substrate; and a channel region having a dopant profile with a peak dopant concentration equal to or more than 1×10.sup.15 cm.sup.−3, wherein a distance between the first surface and a location of the channel region having the peak dopant concentration is less than a distance between the second surface and the location of the channel region having the peak dopant concentration, and wherein the distance between the first surface and the location of the channel region having the peak dopant concentration is not less than 30 nm.

The invention relates to charge-coupled TDI image sensors for the observation of one and the same image strip by multiple rows of pixels in succession with summation of the electric charge generated by an image point, for a row duration (T.sub.L ), in the pixels of the same rank of the various rows. According to the invention, the pixels are subdivided, in the direction of movement, into at least two adjacent portions (SUBa.sub.i,j, SUBb.sub.i,j), each portion comprising at least one charge storage area that is independent of the storage areas of the other portion while allowing a transfer of charge from the first portion to the second, one of the portions (SUBa.sub.i,j) being masked against light and the other portion (SUBb.sub.i,j) not being masked. The unmasked portion comprises a charge removal structure which is activated at a variable moment in time defining a start of actual integration that is independent of the start of a period of observing the image strip. It is thus possible to define a time of exposure to light T.sub.INT that does not depend on the relative speed of movement of the sensor and of the image, unlike the typical charge-coupled TDI sensors in which the duration of exposure is equal to the row period T.sub.L (linked to the speed of movement).

Optical sensing apparatus includes at least one semiconductor substrate and a first array of single-photon detectors, which are disposed on the at least one semiconductor substrate, and second array of counters, which are disposed on the at least one semiconductor substrate and are configured to count electrical pulses output by the single-photon detectors. Routing and aggregation logic is configured, in response to a control signal, to connect the single-photon detectors to the counters in a first mode in which each of at least some of the counters aggregates and counts the electrical pulses output by a respective first group of one or more of the single-photon detectors, and in a second mode in which each of the at least some of the counters aggregates and counts the electrical pulses output by a respective second group of two or more of the single-photon detectors.

Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention implement TDI imaging techniques in conjunction with monolithic CCD image sensors having multiple distinct imaging regions, where TDI imaging techniques can be separately implemented with respect to each distinct imaging region. In many embodiments, the distinct imaging regions are defined by color filters or color filter patterns (e.g. a Bayer filter pattern); and data from the distinct imaging regions can be read out concurrently (or else sequentially and/or nearly concurrently). A camera system can include: a CCD image sensor including a plurality of pixels that define at least two distinct imaging regions, where pixels within each imaging region operate in unison to image a scene differently than at least one other distinct imaging region. In addition, the camera system is operable in a time-delay integration mode whereby time delay-integration imaging techniques are imposed with respect to each distinct imaging region.

First and second images of a semiconductor die or portion thereof are generated. Generating each image includes performing a respective instance of time-domain integration (TDI) along a plurality of pixel columns in an imaging sensor, while illuminating the imaging sensor with light scattered from the semiconductor die or portion thereof. The plurality of pixel columns comprises pairs of pixel columns in which the pixel columns are separated by respective channel stops. While performing a first instance of TDI to generate the first image, a first bias is applied to electrically conductive contacts of the channel stops. While performing a second instance of TDI to generate the second image, a second bias is applied to the electrically conductive contacts of the channel stops. Defects in the semiconductor die or portion thereof are identified using the first and second images.

Provided is a method for driving a solid-state imaging device including a unit pixel which includes at least a first pixel including: a photoelectric converter which receives reflected light from an object and converts the reflected light into charge; an exposure resetter which switches between exposure and discharge of the charge in the photoelectric converter; and a plurality of readers which read the charge from the photoelectric converter and include at least a first reader and a second reader. The method includes: performing a first exposure as the exposure that is performed in a first period in which a gate of the first reader is ON; and performing a second exposure as the exposure that is performed in a second period which is started in conjunction with the end of the first period and in which a gate of the second reader is ON.

Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention implement TDI imaging techniques in conjunction with monolithic CCD image sensors having multiple distinct imaging regions, where TDI imaging techniques can be separately implemented with respect to each distinct imaging region. In many embodiments, the distinct imaging regions are defined by color filters or color filter patterns (e.g. a Bayer filter pattern); and data from the distinct imaging regions can be read out concurrently (or else sequentially and/or nearly concurrently). A camera system can include: a CCD image sensor including a plurality of pixels that define at least two distinct imaging regions, where pixels within each imaging region operate in unison to image a scene differently than at least one other distinct imaging region. In addition, the camera system is operable in a time-delay integration mode whereby time delay-integration imaging techniques are imposed with respect to each distinct imaging region.