The present invention relates to a method of configuring an optical biometric imaging device comprising a photodetector pixel array, the method comprising: acquiring a biometric image of a biometric object using a first binning setting for binning of detection signals from subarrays of the photodetector pixels into a single pixel value;determining a measure indicative of the feature resolution of the biometric image; and determining, when the measure indicates that the feature resolution is below a feature resolution threshold, a second binning setting adapted to provide a higher feature resolution compared to the feature resolution of the biometric image.

An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor in which a plurality of unit pixels are arranged, each unit pixel including one microlens and at least one light receiving portion that produces a pulse signal when light is incident on the light receiving portion, wherein the unit pixel includes a counting circuit capable of counting the pulse signals of a plurality of the light receiving portions.

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 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.

An apparatus includes an image sensor including a first substrate and a second substrate that are stacked one on top of another, the first substrate having a pixel array in which pixel blocks each including a plurality of pixels for performing photoelectric conversion are disposed in matrix, the second substrate having a circuit array in which a plurality of signal processing units that process signals based on the photoelectric conversion are disposed in matrix; obtaining means for obtaining an image signal from the image sensor; and driving control means for controlling driving for obtaining the image signal from the image sensor.

An imager that includes a pixel array with a plurality of columns having rows of pixels and with each pixel having a plurality of photodiodes and a common readout circuit that stores respective accumulation voltages from each of the plurality of photodiodes. The imager further includes row driver circuitry that controls the pixel array for pixel addressing and readout, with the row driver circuitry including a plurality of shift registers, and an image sensor controller that controls the plurality of shift registers to address the rows of pixels in the pixel array. Moreover, the row driver circuitry dynamically upward and downward shifts control signals to the pixel array, such that two rows of pixels in a single column of the pixel array are addressed during a single row time.

A method performed with an image sensor having a pixel array. At least one frame of a scene may be obtained using the pixel array. At least one region of interest (ROI) is identified within the frame. Subsequent frames of the scene are obtained, which involves controlling the pixel array to perform high resolution imaging with respect to the at least one ROI and low resolution imaging using analog binning with respect to remaining regions of the frames.

An image capture apparatus comprises an image sensor and a control circuit that controls operations of the image sensor. The control circuit, in a case where a still image shooting instruction is input during moving image shooting that uses the image sensor, performs a first shot of still image shooting using the image sensor upon a time determined in advance elapsing from input of the shooting instruction, and, in a case where the shooting instruction is continuously input, controls the image sensor to perform still image shooting of a second shot onward during a blanking time period of the moving image shooting.

A pixelated sensor comprises a semiconductor substrate chip with a plurality of sensor pixels and a detector chip with a plurality of detector pixels. Each of the sensor pixels is configured as a photodiode and is electrically connected to an input node of one of the detector pixels. The detector pixels are further configured to convert and output the sensor input to an analog to digital converter. The detector chip further comprises first and second macropixels and a plurality of second macropixels, wherein each first macropixel is formed by subset of detector pixels switchably interconnected via a first conducting grid and wherein each second macropixel is formed by a subset of first macropixels switchably interconnected via a second conducting grid.

A solid-state image sensor and an image capture apparatus are provided that can realize image acquisition and distance measurement while restraining the circuit scale from increasing. The solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of pixels each including a sensor unit that generates a pulse with a frequency that is based on a reception frequency of a photon, and a counter that can operate in a first mode of counting the number of pulses of a signal generated by the sensor unit, and a second mode of counting the number of pulses of a predetermined signal that is based on an elapsed time from a timing at which light is emitted from a light emitting unit.