Patent ID: 11871135
Assignee: OMNIVISION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 11:
12. A method of reducing resistance-capacitance delay along photodiode transfer lines of an image sensor comprising:
providing an array of multiple-photodiode cells in an array, the multiple-photodiode cells in the array organized in standard rows comprising standard multiple-photodiode cells and phase-detection rows comprising standard multiple-photodiode cells and phase-detection multiple photodiode cells,
providing at least a first decoder-driver that drives a plurality of standard photodiode transfer lines, the standard photodiode transfer lines each being forked into a plurality of standard photodiode transfer sublines near the first decoder-driver; and
distributing a plurality of selection transistors of a plurality of multiple-photodiode cells of the standard rows and a plurality of selection transistors of a plurality of multiple-photodiode cells of the phase-detection rows among the plurality of standard photodiode transfer sublines;
providing a phase detection photodiode transfer line for each of a plurality of the phase-detection rows of the plurality of multiple-photodiode cells, the phase detection photodiode transfer lines coupled to at least one selection transistor of a plurality of phase detection multiple photodiode cells of the plurality of multiple photodiode cells of the phase-detection rows;
where the phase detection photodiode transfer lines are unforked;
the standard rows lack phase-detection multiple-photodiode cells; and
the standard rows comprise standard multiple-photodiode cells without phase-detection multiple-photodiode cells.