Provided is an image sensor including a first pixel including a first floating diffusion region and a second floating diffusion region, a second pixel including a first floating diffusion region, a second floating diffusion region, and a third floating diffusion region, a third pixel including a first floating diffusion region and a second floating diffusion region, and a fourth pixel including a first floating diffusion region, a second floating diffusion region, and a third floating diffusion region, wherein the second floating diffusion region of the first pixel and the second floating diffusion region of the second pixel are connected through a first metal line, and wherein the third floating diffusion region of the second pixel and the third floating diffusion region of the third pixel are connected through a second metal.

An imaging element included in an imaging device includes a pixel array in which a plurality of unit pixels are arranged in a matrix, each of the unit pixels having a photoelectric conversion unit. The imaging element is able to read out multiple rows of pixel signals in parallel in a unit horizontal synchronous period. The multiple rows of pixel groups are classified into a first pixel group and a second pixel group by a plurality of rows control signals, and are periodically arranged in a vertical direction of the imaging element. The imaging element is able to acquire signals obtained by multiplying different gains by pixel signals of unit pixels of the first pixel group and pixel signals of unit pixels of the second pixel group through setting of a plurality of rows control signals.

An imaging device with a plurality of image sensing pixels and a plurality of event detection pixels is provided. The image sensing and event detection pixels can be provided as part of different arrays of pixels, or can be included within a common array of pixels. The event detection pixels are operated continuously to provide signals indicating the occurrence of events. In response to detecting an event, image sensing pixels are selectively operated. The selective operation of the image sensing pixels can include activation of image sensing pixels within one or more regions of interest, while image sensing pixels not included in any region of interest remain off. The selective operation of the image sensing pixels can include the selection of a frame rate applied across an array of mage sensing pixels, or within determined regions of interest.

The present invention provides a dual conversion gain image sensor comprising: a pixel circuit, through which pixel power supply voltage noise is transferred to a bit line; a power supply noise cancellation circuit with an input to which the pixel power supply voltage is applied, the power supply noise cancellation circuit mimicly producing a first transfer function with the aid of a low conversion gain path, the power supply noise cancellation circuit mimicly producing a second transfer function with the aid of a high conversion gain path; and a comparator. According to the present invention, the low and high conversion gain paths are two independent power supply noise cancellation paths that result in different transfer functions capable of tracking the variation of the pixel power supply voltage in low and high conversion gain modes.

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a light receiving circuit configured to convert light into an electrical signal, a readout circuit configured to read out an analog signal corresponding to the electrical signal, a ΔΣ A/D converter configured to convert the analog signal into a digital signal, and a control circuit configured to change a gain of the photoelectric conversion apparatus in accordance with a change of a driving mode of the photoelectric conversion apparatus. The analog signal read out by the readout circuit is an analog current signal. The readout circuit includes a variable resistor on a signal path for supplying the analog current signal to the ΔΣ A/D converter. The control circuit changes the gain of the photoelectric conversion apparatus by changing a resistance value of the variable resistor.

An image sensing device and an image sensing method are provided. The image sensing device includes a pixel array and a readout circuit. The pixel array includes multiple sensing sub-pixels arranged in an array. During a first exposure period of a frame period, the sensing sub-pixels are simultaneously exposed to respectively store multiple first sensing signals in multiple storage units of the sensing sub-pixels. During multiple first readout periods of the frame period, the readout circuit sequentially reads out the first sensing signals stored in the storage units during different periods. During each of multiple dynamic sensing periods of the frame period, all or part of the sensing sub-pixels are reset and then simultaneously exposed again, and the readout circuit then simultaneously reads out multiple second sensing signals of the sensing sub-pixels.

A depth camera assembly (DCA) for multimode time-of-flight based depth sensing is presented herein. The DCA includes a projector, a detector, and a controller. The projector illuminates a target area with outgoing light comprising a plurality of light pulses. The detector includes an array of unit cells. Each unit cell includes a macropixel with a plurality of pixels that captures portions of the outgoing light reflected from the target area, and an array of memory cells coupled to the macropixel. At least one of the memory cells stores information about the captured portions of the reflected outgoing light received from the macropixel. The controller determines depth information for the target area based in part on data read from the at least one memory cell.

An array of pixels for charge domain binning in a CMOS image sensor, to increase the readout sensitivity of such a sensor. The array of pixels comprises at least two pixels in a common substrate. At least one of said pixels is configured or configurable to function as a pixel of a first type with a first, higher, charge collecting capability, for collecting charges generated by radiation impinging on the substrate. At least another one of said pixels is configurable to function as pixel of a second type, with a second, reduced, charge collecting capability, and as a pixel of the first type.

A radiation imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit having a pixel array of pixels, and a signal processing unit for processing a signal from the imaging unit. Each pixel includes a conversion element for converting radiation into electrical signal and a reset unit for resetting the conversion element, the signal processing unit generates radiation image based on first image corresponding to electrical signal converted by the conversion unit of each pixel in a first period, and second image corresponding to electrical signal converted by the conversion element of each pixel in a second period which starts after start of the first period and ends before end of the first period, and in each pixel, the conversion element is not reset by the reset unit in the first period.

The present invention provides a solid-state imaging device and a camera system capable of recording a still image without using a recording medium. Each pixel P of an image sensor is provided with a photodiode, a transfer transistor, a reset transistor, and an amplifying transistor, as well as a memory element that has functions of a select transistor. The memory element has a structure integrating a drain side select transistor, a source side select transistor, and a memory transistor. By applying a program voltage to a memory gate electrode as a gate voltage, the memory transistor stores charge of an amount corresponding to an amount of light received by the photodiode in a charge storage layer.