In an embodiment a pixel arrangement includes a photodetector configured to accumulate charge carriers by converting electromagnetic radiation, a transfer transistor electrically coupled to the photodetector, a diffusion node electrically coupled to the transfer transistor, a reset transistor electrically coupled to the diffusion node and to a pixel supply voltage and a sample-and-hold stage including at least a first capacitor and a second capacitor, an input of the sample-and-hold stage being electrically coupled to the diffusion node via an amplifier, wherein the transfer transistor is configured to be pulsed to different voltage levels for transferring parts of the accumulated charge carriers to the diffusion node, wherein at least the second capacitor is configured to store a low conversion gain signal representing a first part of the accumulated charge carriers, and wherein the first capacitor is configured to store a high conversion gain signal representing a remaining part of the accumulated charge carriers.

An electronic apparatus includes: an image sensor for acquiring pixel values of first pixels sensed during a first exposure time and second pixels sensed during a second exposure time longer than the first exposure time; and a controller for outputting an output image acquired based on pixel values of the first pixels and a corrected saturated pixel value obtained by correcting a pixel value of a saturated pixel having a pixel value exceeding a threshold value among the second pixels, using a pixel value of at least one first pixel having a distance closest to a position of the saturated pixel among the first pixels.

Provided is a pixel array including a plurality of pixels, each of which includes a photodiode configured to generate a photocharge in a frame including a plurality of unit frames, a floating diffusion node configured to receive the photocharge, a first storage capacitor configured to receive and store a first photocharge generated by the photodiode through the floating diffusion node during a first unit accumulation time period in each of the plurality of unit frames, and a second storage capacitor configured to receive and store a second photocharge generated by the photodiode through the floating diffusion node during a second unit accumulation time period in each of the plurality of unit frames.

The present disclosure relates to a solid state image sensor and electronic equipment that enable degradation in image quality of a captured image to be suppressed even if any pixel in a pixel array is configured as a functional pixel for obtaining desired information in order to obtain information different from a normal image. In a plurality of pixels constituting subblocks provided in an RGB Bayer array constituting a block which is a set of color units, normal pixels that capture a normal image are arranged longitudinally and laterally symmetrically within the subblock, and functional pixels for obtaining desired information other than capturing an image are arranged at the remaining positions. The present disclosure can be applied to a solid state image sensor.

The present disclosure relates to a solid state image sensor and electronic equipment that enable degradation in image quality of a captured image to be suppressed even if any pixel in a pixel array is configured as a functional pixel for obtaining desired information in order to obtain information different from a normal image. In a plurality of pixels constituting subblocks provided in an RGB Bayer array constituting a block which is a set of color units, normal pixels that capture a normal image are arranged longitudinally and laterally symmetrically within the subblock, and functional pixels for obtaining desired information other than capturing an image are arranged at the remaining positions. The present disclosure can be applied to a solid state image sensor.

This application provides an image sensor (702) and image light sensing method. The image sensor (702) includes a red pixel (R), a green pixel (G), a blue pixel (B), and an invisible light pixel, where the red pixel (R), the green pixel (G), and the blue pixel (B) are large pixels, the invisible light pixel is a small pixel, and a light sensing area of the large pixel is greater than that of the small pixel. The red pixel (R), the green pixel (G), and the blue pixel (B) are arranged in a Bayer format. In this application, when color information is sufficient, light crosstalk caused by the small pixel to the large pixel can be reduced, and therefore a signal-to-noise ratio of the large pixel can be improved.

An image capturing device includes: an image capturing element having a first image capturing region that captures an image of a photographic subject and outputs a first signal, and a second image capturing region that captures an image of the photographic subject and outputs a second signal; a setting unit that sets an image capture condition for the first image capturing region to an image capture condition that is different from an image capture condition for the second image capturing region; a correction unit that performs correction upon the second signal, for employment in interpolation of the first signal; and a generation unit that generates an image of the photographic subject that has been captured by the first image capturing region by employing a signal generated by interpolating the first signal according to the second signal as corrected by the correction unit.

An image capturing device includes: an image capturing element having a first image capturing region that captures an image of a photographic subject and outputs a first signal, and a second image capturing region that captures an image of the photographic subject and outputs a second signal; a setting unit that sets an image capture condition for the first image capturing region to an image capture condition that is different from an image capture condition for the second image capturing region; a correction unit that performs correction upon the second signal, for employment in interpolation of the first signal; and a generation unit that generates an image of the photographic subject that has been captured by the first image capturing region by employing a signal generated by interpolating the first signal according to the second signal as corrected by the correction unit.

An image capture system includes an image sensor which has pixel lines, a reset circuit, a readout circuit, and a processor. The processor configured to determine a first exposure time for a first portion of the image information, determine a second exposure time for a second portion of the image information, and variably control a pixel line exposure time for a selected line of pixels by signaling the reset circuit and the readout circuit at different times which are based on the first exposure time and the second exposure time, and where the first exposure time, the second exposure time, and the pixel line exposure time are elapsed times between the reset time and the read time. The image sensor further includes a gain element which is pixel line variably controlled using a first gain factor for the first portion and a second gain factor for the second portion.

An image recognition device (image recognition system 100) according to the present disclosure includes an imaging unit (10) and a recognition unit (14). The imaging unit (10) captures a plurality of images at the same exposure start timing in one frame period by using imaging pixels having different sensitivities to generate image data. The recognition unit (14) recognizes a subject from each of the image data. The imaging unit (10) includes a pixel array in which a plurality of imaging pixels having different exposure times, different light transmittances of color filters, or different light receiving areas are two-dimensionally arranged.