An imaging system may include an array of image sensor pixels, each image sensor pixel including a photosensitive element coupled to time trace generation circuitry having a first CCD register. The time trace generation circuitry may be coupled to integration circuitry having a second integration CCD register via corresponding charge transfer structures. The second integration CCD register may integrate multiples sets of sampled charge from the first CCD register to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the collected time trace information. The time trace generations circuitry or integration circuitry may also include background light subtract capabilities to remove background light level from the collected time trace information.

To provide a photo-electric conversion element in which responsiveness and external quantum efficiency are improved. Provided is an organic photo-electric conversion element 10 including: an organic photo-electric conversion layer 13 sandwiched by a first electrode 11 and a second electrode 15. The organic photo-electric conversion layer 13 contains organic molecules of a quinacridone (QD) derivative and a subphthalocyanine (SubPc) derivative, and at least the quinacridone derivative out of the organic molecules is in random orientation.

A TDI scanner including a dynamically programmable focal plane array including a two-dimensional array of detectors arranged in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, the array being divided into a plurality of banks separated from one another by gap regions, each bank including a plurality of sub-banks, and each sub-bank including at least one row of detectors, a ROIC coupled to the focal plane array and configured to combine in a TDI process outputs from detectors in each column of detectors in each sub-bank, and a controller configured to program the focal plane array to selectively and dynamically set characteristics of the focal plane array, the characteristics including a size and a location within the two-dimensional array of each of the plurality of sub-banks and the gap regions, the size corresponding to a number of rows of detectors included in the respective sub-bank or gap region.

Embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for specular surface inspection, and particularly to systems and methods for surface inspection comprising inverse synthetic aperture imaging (“ISAI”) and specular surface geometry imaging (“SSGI”). Embodiments may allow an object under inspection, to be observed, imaged and processed while continuing to be in motion. Further, multiple optical input sources may be provided, such that the object does not have to be in full view of all optical sensors at once. Further, multi-stage surface inspection may be provided, wherein an object under inspection may be inspected at multiple stages of an inspection system, such as, for an automotive painting process, inspection at primer, inspection at paint, inspection at final assembly. SSGI imaging modules are also described for carrying out micro-deflectometry.

A first pixel comprises a first transfer transistor, a first reset transistor, a first amplifier transistor and a first select transistor. The first transfer transistor has a first terminal coupled to a reference signal generation circuit. The first reset transistor has a first terminal coupled to the reference signal generation circuit. The first amplifier transistor has a gate coupled to a second terminal of the first reset transistor and a second terminal of the first transfer transistor. The first select transistor is coupled to the first amplifier transistor. A second pixel comprises a first photoelectric conversion element, a second transfer transistor coupled to the first photoelectric conversion element, a second reset transistor configured to receive a first predetermined voltage, a second amplifier transistor coupled to the second transfer transistor and the second reset transistor, and a second select transistor coupled to the second amplifier transistor.

To simplify the interconnection of signal lines in an imaging element including two semiconductor chips. An imaging element includes a pixel chip and a circuit chip. The pixel chip includes a plurality of pixels each including a charge transfer section configured to transfer a charge generated in accordance with incident light to a charge retention section in accordance with a control signal, and a plurality of first control signal transmission sections each configured to transmit the control signal for each of the charge transfer sections. The circuit chip includes a control signal generation section configured to generate the control signal for each of the charge transfer sections of the plurality of pixels, and a plurality of second control signal transmission sections provided to individually correspond to the first control signal transmission sections and each configured to transmit the generated control signal.

The present subject matter includes a method of focusing of an optical imaging apparatus. The method comprises causing illumination of an object using an illuminating beam to thereby cause generation of a scattered beam. A first set of luminous parameters are derived from a first detected position of a luminous representation formed by the scattered beam from the object. The illumination-beam is focused upon the object by triggering a movement of the object along an optical-axis in a first direction, the first direction being based a numerical-representation of the first set of luminous parameters. A second set of luminous parameters are derived from a second detected position of the luminous-representation of the object, the second detected position being related to the first detected position and the movement of the object. The focusing of the illumination beam is ceased based at-least on a numerical-representation of the second set of luminous parameters.

To provide a solid-state imaging device and an electronic apparatus capable of achieving both of a high dynamic range operation and an auto focus operation in a pixel configuration in which a plurality of unit pixels includes two or more subpixels. There is provided a solid-state imaging device including: a first pixel separation region that separates a plurality of unit pixels including two or more subpixels; a second pixel separation region that separates each of the plurality of unit pixels separated by the first pixel separation region; and an overflow region that causes signal charges accumulated in the subpixels to overflow to at least one of adjacent subpixels, in which the overflow region is formed between a first subpixel and a second subpixel.

Provided are an X-ray inspection apparatus and an X-ray inspection method. The X-ray inspection apparatus includes: an X-ray source; a sample moving mechanism; the TDI sensor; and a TDI computing unit. The TDI computing unit includes a data transfer unit configured to transfer, to an outside, data of accumulated charges obtained by accumulating and transferring the charges, and has a function of setting in advance, as a determination region, a plurality of columns of line sensors with which the sample is detectable, and of detecting the sample in the determination region. The data transfer unit is configured to set, as detecting rows, rows of the pixels with which the sample has been detected in the determination region and rows around the rows, and transfer, to the outside, the data of accumulated charges only for pixels in the detecting rows.

A non-contact measuring device for measuring dimensions of an object using processed light beams from a laser includes a laser source, an attenuator, a lens group, a stage, a charge-coupled device (CCD), and a processor. The stage supports and rotates a measurable object and the light beams passing through or reflected by the object are collected by pixels of the CCD, enabling calculations of the dimensions of the object by the processor.