Patent ID: 6714239
Filing Date: 2004-03-30
Classification: H01L,H04N

Abstract:
A semiconductor based, active pixel image sensor comprising:an active pixel sensor comprising: a plurality of active pixels formed upon a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of the pixels having a photodetector which plurality of pixels are arranged in a plurality of columns and rows for forming a two dimensional array; wherein the active pixels convert a charge packet to voltage signal; a plurality of color filters of at least two different colors arranged over a majority of the pixels for forming colored pixels which are arranged with at least two different colored pixels in a single row; a plurality of transfer gates, the transfer gates being adjacent to the photodetectors and controlled by one of a plurality of electrodes, the transfer gates being capable of modulating the electrostatic potential adjacent to the photodetector upon application of a predetermined voltage to the electrode for that transfer gate to remove charge from the photodetector; at least two buses per row arranged such that there is at least one bus for each color of the different colors in the row, each of the buses being operatively connected to the transfer gates associated with only one of the different colors through one of the electrodes; wherein all signals from pixels in a single row are read out substantially simultaneously to their corresponding buses; interface means for providing an electrical connection to a timing circuit, the interface means having at least one connection to each of the color buses and at least one input from the timing circuit for each connection; whereby each of the different colors can have an integration period that is controlled by the timing circuit independent from other of the different colors, and the integration time of substantially all colors in the entire two dimensional array ends substantially simultaneously.