Patent ID: 9686486
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: H04N

Claim:
1. An imaging system, comprising: an array of photodiodes arranged in rows and columns, wherein the array comprises a three-photodiode-by-three-photodiode region that includes a set of four non-adjacent photodiodes; a color filter array, wherein the color filter array comprises a set of four color filter elements formed over the set of four non-adjacent photodiodes, wherein each color filter element in the set of four color filter elements is configured to transmit light of a given wavelength band, wherein the color filter array further comprises at least one color filter element that is configured to transmit light of a wavelength band that is different than the given wavelength band and that is formed over one of the photodiodes in the three-by-three-photodiode region other than the four non-adjacent photodiodes in the set; and a shared floating diffusion node, wherein a pair of the photodiodes in the set of four non-adjacent photodiodes is formed in a common row of the array and is coupled to the shared floating diffusion node, and wherein the photodiodes in the three-photodiode-by-three-photodiode region that are not in the set of four non-adjacent photodiodes are not coupled to the shared floating diffusion node.