The image sensor pixel may include a photodiode, a charge storage region, readout circuitry, and a transfer transistor that couples the photodiode to the charge storage region. The photodiode may generate first and second image signals during first and second exposure periods, respectively. The transfer transistor may transfer the first image signal to the charge storage region. While generating the second image signal, the readout circuitry may perform readout operations on the first image signal. Thereafter, the charge storage region may be reset to a reset voltage level. The readout circuitry may perform readout operations on the reset voltage level. Then, transfer transistor may transfer the second image signal to the charge storage region. The readout circuitry may perform readout operations on the second image signal. The readout operations on both the first and second image signals may be double sampling readouts.

An image pickup apparatus which is capable of properly detecting and compensating for flash bands to generate a corrected image with no different levels of luminance. Based on an image signal output from an image pickup device which sequentially starts exposure and reads out signals for each row of pixels, a flash band appearing in a plurality of frames consecutive in terms of time due to an external flash is detected. Gains are changed with rows of the frames. At least one of the frames in which the flash band was detected is corrected to a full-screen flash image. When flash bands caused by a plurality of external flashes fired in one frame is detected, a gain is calculated based on a light quantity ratio between the external flashes, and a region where the flash bands overlay each other is multiplied by the gain to generate the full-screen flash image.

An image pickup apparatus which satisfactorily compensates for a flash band appearing due to an external flash and prevents a row insensitive to the flash from appearing in a corrected image. The flash band appearing in a plurality of frames consecutive in terms of time is detected based on an image signal output from an image pickup device which sequentially starts exposure and sequentially reads out signals for each row of pixels. An image in at least one of those frames is corrected to a full-screen flash image. When a width of the flash band is smaller than the number of rows in one frame, a row in which the flash band does not appear is interpolated using a row in which the flash band appears and which immediately precedes or immediately succeeds the row in which the flash band does not appear.

An image sensor pixel may include a photodiode, a charge storage region, a floating diffusion node, and a capacitor. A first transistor may be coupled between the photodiode and the charge storage region. A second transistor may be coupled between the charge storage region and the capacitor. The photodiode may generate image signals corresponding to incident light. Multiple image signals may be summed at the charge storage region. The second transistor may determine a portion of the image signal that may be sent to the capacitor for storage. The portion of the image signal that is sent to the capacitor may be a low gain signal. A remaining portion of the image signal may be a high gain signal. The image sensor pixel may also include readout circuitry that is configured to readout low and high gain signals stored at the floating diffusion node in a double-sampling readout operation.

An endoscope system including: a light source that generates illuminating light; a controller that receives a light control signal and controls the illuminating light; a light receiving unit having pixels in a matrix; a reading unit that sequentially reads an electrical signal for each line; and an imaging controller that repeats read processing to sequentially read, for each line, the electrical signal from the light receiving unit, and exposure processing for exposing the light receiving unit. Where a blanking period is a time from completion of reading of a last line for a preceding frame to start of reading of a first line for a following frame and a read period is a time from a start of reading of a first line for a frame to completion of reading of a last line of the frame such that the blanking period can be changed without changing the read period.

An image pickup apparatus which is capable of, even when a flash band appears during a zooming operation, properly compensating for the flash band to generate a post-compensation image having no different levels of luminance. A lens unit has a zoom function. Image information generated based on image signals output from an image pickup device, which sequentially starts exposure and sequentially reads out signals for each row of pixels, is held in a memory unit. Based on the image information, the flash band caused by an external flash and extending across a plurality of frames is detected, and frames in which the flash band was detected are corrected to obtain an image having no different levels of luminance. The frames are corrected according to a calculated zoom change ratio of the lens unit when the zoom change ratio does not fall inside a first range determined in advance.

An image sensor pixel having a hybrid transfer storage gate-storage diode storage node is disclosed herein. An example image sensor includes a photodiode, a storage diode, a transfer gate, and a buried storage well. The photodiode, storage diode, and buried storage well are all disposed in a semiconductor material. The transfer storage gate may be disposed on a surface of the semiconductor material between the photodiode and the storage diode. Further, the buried storage well may be disposed under the storage diode and partially under the transfer storage gate. Additionally, a length of the transfer storage gate and a length of the storage diode may be equal, and the storage diode may passivate a surface of the semiconductor material between the transfer storage gate and an output gate.

In an example embodiment a method, apparatus and computer program product are provided. The method includes determining presence of at least one moving object in a scene based on two or more burst images corresponding to the scene captured by a first camera. One or more portions of the scene associated with the at least one moving object are identified, and, information related to the one or more portions is provided to a second camera. An image of the scene captured by the second camera second camera is received, where a pixel level shutter disposed in front of an image sensor of the second camera is programmed to periodically open and close, throughout a duration of said image capture, for pixels of the image sensor corresponding to the one or more portions of the scene. A deblurred image corresponding to the scene is generated based on the image.

Each pixel of a global shutter back-side illuminated image sensor includes a photosensitive area. On a front surface, a first transistor includes a vertical ring-shaped electrode penetrating into the photosensitive area and laterally delimiting a memory area. The memory area penetrates into the photosensitive area less deeply than the insulated vertical ring-shaped electrode. A read area is formed in an intermediate area which is formed in the memory area. The memory area, the intermediate area and read area define a second transistor having an insulated horizontal electrode forming a gate of the second transistor. The memory area may be formed by a first and second memory areas and an output signal is generated indicative of a difference between charge stored in the first memory area and charge stored in the second memory area after a charge transfer to the first memory area.

The present invention relates to an optical biometric sensor (100) comprising: an image sensor (302) comprising an array (301) of photodetectors (304), wherein for acquiring sensing signals, the image sensor is controllable to sequentially start exposure of subsets (306, 308, 309) of photodetectors; and a timing circuitry (310) configured to control the start of exposure of a subset of photodetectors based on a present data transfer capacity on a data transfer bus (312) configured to transfer data indicative of the acquired sensing signals from the optical biometric sensor to a host device (314).