# Patent

## Title
Variable quantization ADC for image sensors

## Abstract

An A/D converter suitable for use in a system in which the signal power of noise increases with the signal power of the signal, such as an imaging system, utilizes a variable quantization system for converting analog signals into digital signals. The variable quantization is controlled so that at low signal levels the quantization is similar or identical to conventional A/D converters, while the quantization level is increased at higher signal levels. Thus, higher resolution is provided at low signal levels while lower resolution is produced at high signal levels.

## Background
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to an imaging system. More specifically, the present invention is directed to the use of variable quantization while performing analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion in an imaging system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional imaging system 100. The system 100 includes an N×M array 110 of pixels P. The system 100 may be monochromatic or color. If the system 100 is a color system, the pixels P in the array 110 would be sensitive to the primary colors of red, green, or blue, and would typically be arranged in a Bayer pattern (i.e., alternating rows are comprised of green/red and blue/green sensitive pixels in adjacent columns).
Each pixel P in the array 110 converts incident light into electrical energy, which is output as an electrical signal. The signals from the N pixels forming a row in the array 110 are typically simultaneously output on respective column lines to respective sample-and-hold circuits 120, which store the electrical signals. These signals are then selected, one pixel at a time, for further processing by a driver 130, and then converted into a digital signal by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 140. The digital signals are further processed by a digital processing section 150, and then stored by a storage device 160. When all the signals stored in the sample-and-hold circuits 120 have been processed, another row of signals is output and stored in the sample-and-hold circuit 120 and the processing continues until each row of the N×M array 110 has been processed. The above described processing may be controlled by a control circuit 170. Alternatively, control circuit 170 may include a plurality of control circuits.
An ideal pixel would output an analog pixel signal with no noise component in a manner consistent with the amount of incident light upon the pixel. In order to achieve a high fidelity image, a conventional high resolution (e.g., 12 to 14 bits) A/D converter is typically used to convert the pixel signal into a digital signal. However, one drawback associated with conventional high resolution A/D converters is that they require a relatively long time to perform each A/D conversion. For example, converter 140 might be based on a “ramp” design, which requires many processing steps in the A/D conversion.
Now referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, it can be seen that a ramp type A/D converter 200 operates by sampling and holding the input signal (Vs) over a sampling period (ts) comprised of a plurality of clock cycles (1tc, 2tc, . . . , 8tc). The A/D converter 200 is initialized when the start pulse control 201 generates the logical high portion of a start pulse. This resets the value stored in counter 204, resets the state of the ramp generator 205, and causes the AND gate 203 to output a low logical state. Thereafter, during each clock cycle (1tc–8tc), the value of the counter 204 is incremented by one, and the state of the ramp generator 205 is changed to cause the ramp generator 205 to generate a new reference signal Vr. A comparator 206 compares the reference signal Vr against the input signal Vs. If the magnitude of the reference signal Vr does not exceed that of the input signal Vs, the comparator 206 outputs a logical high state to the AND gate 203, which when combined with a clock pulse generated by clock 202 and the low logical state portion of the start signal, toggles the clock inputs of counter 204 and ramp generator 205.
Each time counter 204 is toggled, it increases is value by one. Thus, on each successive cycle, the ramp generator 205 generates a higher magnitude reference voltage Vr until the magnitude of the reference voltage Vr exceeds the magnitude of the sample signal. Thereafter, the comparator outputs a low logical state to AND gate 203, causing the AND gate 203 to continually output a low logical state, thereby freezing the counter value. When enough clock cycles have elapsed to constitute an entire sample period, the counter value is equal to the digitally converted value. Once the counter value has been read out, the start pulse control can generate a new start pulse to cause the A/D converter 200 to being the conversion process again.
It should be apparent from the discussion above with respect to FIGS. 2A–2B that an I-bit ramp type A/D converter requires a minimum sampling time equal to 2I clock cycles in order to permit sufficient time to compare the maximum ramp value with the input signal. Thus, the throughput of an imaging system 100 (FIG. 1) is at least partially limited by the speed of the A/D converter 140, especially when high resolution (e.g., I=12 or more) A/D conversion is employed. Accordingly, there is a need for a method and mechanism for performing high resolution A/D conversion at a faster rate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention provide an A/D converter, and method of operation of same, which utilizes a variable quantization system for converting analog signals into digital signals. The variable quantization is controlled so that at low signal levels the quantization is similar or identical to conventional A/D converters, while the quantization level is increased at higher signal levels. Thus, higher resolution is provided at low signal levels while lower resolution is produced at high signal levels.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention given below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional imaging system;
FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating the operation of a conventional ramp type A/D converter;
FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a conventional ramp type A/D converter;
FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the relative levels of photo and noise signals from a pixel;
FIGS. 4A–4C are graphs illustrating different transfer functions between an input analog voltage and an output digital word;
FIG. 5A is a block diagram of a circuit for replacing counter 204 in FIG. 2B;
FIG. 5B is a block diagram of a ramp generator having multiple capacitor banks;
FIG. 5C is a block diagram of a A/D converter in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a processor based system utilizing the present invention.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Now referring to the drawings, where like reference numerals designate like elements, there is shown in FIG. 3 a graph illustrating the relationship between photo signal level (i.e., pixel signal level) and noise level. As shown in FIG. 3, the noise level is approximately the square root of the photo signal level. Thus, as the photo or pixel signal level increases, so does the noise level, however, the gap between the pixel signal level and the noise level also increases.
In the present invention, a variable quantization A/D converter is utilized to implement an alternate transfer function between an input analog voltage and a output digital word, in order to take advantage of the above illustrated relationship. Referring now to FIG. 4A, the linear transfer function between an input analog voltage IN and a output digital word OUT from a conventional A/D converter is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 4A, in a conventional A/D converter, the output digital word varies linearly with the input analog signal. The slope and the step increments of the transfer function in FIG. 4A remains unchanged between low and high levels of the input signal IN, indicating that the same precision is retained in the conversion across all input signal levels.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, in an imaging system, at low photo signal levels, noise levels are low, thereby permitting high precision A/D conversion. However, at high photo signal levels, noise levels also increase, thereby making high precision A/D conversion increasingly problematic as photo signal levels increase. Thus, as is discussed below, FIGS. 4B and 4C illustrate alternate transfer functions of an input analog voltage and an output digital word that would be more suitable for use in imaging systems than the transfer function illustrated in FIG. 4A.
Now referring to FIG. 4B, it can be seen that the illustrated transfer function behaves identically to the transfer function of FIG. 4A at low input signals IN levels. At increasing levels of the input signal IN, however, the increment between conversion steps (in both the IN and OUT axis) are also increased. That is, while transfer functions of FIGS. 4A and 4B span the same input IN and output OUT ranges, in the transfer function of FIG. 4B, at higher levels of the input signal, increasing levels of the input signal IN are mapped to the same output signal value and a lesser number of output signal values OUT are valid outputs.
The transfer function illustrated in FIG. 4C also behaves identically to the transfer function of FIG. 4A at low input signal IN levels. At increasing levels of the input signal IN, however, the increment in conversion steps for the IN axis is increased while the increment in conversion steps for the OUT axis is unchanged. That is, in comparison to the transfer function of FIG. 4A, the transfer function of FIG. 4C spans the identical range of IN values while spanning a lesser range of OUT values. Further, at increasing levels of the input signal IN, an increasing number of levels of the input signal are mapped to the same OUT value. Although the same number of OUT values are valid outputs for the transfer functions shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the range of OUT values for the transfer function of FIG. 4B spans the same range as that of FIG. 4A while the range of OUT values for the transfer function of FIG. 4C spans a lesser range than that of FIGS. 4A and 4B. In one exemplary embodiment, the transfer function illustrated in FIG. 4A would be a 12-bit linear transfer function, while the transfer functions of FIGS. 4B and 4C would be 10-bit transfer functions (i.e., the number of valid output signals OUT has been reduced by a factor of 4 over the transfer function of FIG. 4A).
The transfer function of FIG. 4B is generally known as a linear mode transfer function while the transfer function of FIG. 4C is generally known as a compressed mode transfer function. A variable quantization A/D converter in accordance with the principles of the present invention may be constructed using either the linear or compressed mode transfer functions by using a modified version of the circuit of FIG. 2B. Essentially, the circuit of FIG. 2B can be used, except that the ramp generator 205 and the counter 204 will be replaced with different ramp generators and counters.
More specifically, to implement the linear mode transfer function, both the ramp generator 205 and the counter 204 are modified so that at increasingly high signal levels both circuits ramp up in identical steps consistent with the transfer function as shown in FIG. 4B. That is, when the ramp voltage begins to increment in double steps, the counter must also increment in double steps. As the ramp voltage increments increases further, so must the counter. To implement the compressed mode transfer function, the original counter 204 is utilized while the ramp generator 205 is modified so that at increasingly high signal levels the ramp generator ramps up in steps consistent with the transfer function as shown in FIG. 4C. Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, it can be seen that the linear mode transfer function embodiment of the invention may be implemented by replacing the counter 204 in FIG. 2B with the circuit 204′ of FIG. 5A. Furthermore, implementing either the linear mode or the compressed mode transfer function of the present invention also requires replacing the ramp generator 205 of FIG. 2B with ramp generator 205′ of FIG. 5B.
In the new counter circuit 204′ illustrated in FIG. 5A, the clock and reset signals previously supplied to counter 204 in FIG. 2B are routed to a controller 501, which reads successive values from a ROM 512. The ROM 512 contains the output values OUT for the transfer function of FIG. 4B or FIG. 4C. The controller 501 loads each successive output value from the ROM 512 into the register 502 as the clock signal is incremented. When the reset signal is pulsed, the controller is set to read the next output value from the ROM 512 starting at the ROM's first address.
In FIG. 5B, the new ramp generator 205′ includes multiple capacitor banks 520a, 520b, 520c. Each capacitor bank 520a, 520b, 520c differs only in that the capacitance of each capacitor in a particular bank is different from those of the other banks. For example, in one embodiment, the capacitance of each capacitor C1 is one quarter that of the capacitance of each capacitor C3, and the capacitance of each capacitor C2 is one half of that of the capacitance of each capacitor C3. The outputs from each capacitor bank 520a, 520b, 520c are coupled together to form a single output from the ramp generator 205′. The use of different capacitor banks with different capacitances permits the use of fewer capacitors to span the reduced number of required output voltages.
The clock and reset signals previously supplied to the single shift register 210 in FIG. 2C are now instead supplied to a controller 511. The controller 511 is coupled to a ROM 512′ which stores code words corresponding to the transfer function of FIG. 4B. More specifically, the code words are used to instruct the controller 511 to increment one or more of the clock signals and/or to reset one or more of the shift registers 210, in the plurality of capacitor banks 520a, 520b, 520c in order to provide a ramp voltage consistent with the desired transfer function.
FIG. 5C is a block diagram of an A/D converter 200′ in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The A/D converter 200′ includes many of the same parts as the conventional A/D converter 200 (FIG. 2), but respectively substitutes the above described ramp generator 205′ and counter circuit 204′ in place of the conventional ramp generator 205 and counter 204. Thus, the A/D converter 200′ can implement the linear or compressed mode transfer functions as described above.
FIG. 6 is an illustration of a processor based system 600 incorporating a processor 601, a memory 602, at least one peripheral device 603, and an imaging system 604, each coupled to a bus 610. The imaging system 604 incorporates at least one A/D converter 200′ (FIG. 5C) of the invention.
The present invention therefore provides for the use of variable quantization A/D conversion in an imaging system. According to one embodiment, a variable quantization A/D converter provides the variable levels of quantization, and is operated such that at higher levels of the input signal, the degree of quantization is increased. This embodiment provides for faster A/D conversion, for example, in a ramp type A/D converter. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a ramp generator includes a plurality of capacitor banks, with each capacitor bank utilizing capacitors of varying values. In one embodiment, the capacitance of the capacitors of each capacitor bank are related as powers of 2 to one of the capacitor banks. The choice between the transfer functions illustrated in FIGS. 4B and 4C is left to the designer of the imaging system. However, it should be recognized that the invention may also be practiced in a variety of other manners. For example, the invention may also be practiced by a combination of a linear and non-linear A/D converters. Alternatively, the invention may also be practiced by passing the output of a linear A/D converter to a non-linear processing circuit which performs non-linear signal mapping/compression. Such a processing circuit might, for example, map or compress output of a linear A/D converter by using a look-up table to map input values to output values.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with the exemplary embodiment, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above disclosed embodiment. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alternations, substitutions, or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the foregoing description or drawings, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

## Claims

1. An analog to digital (A/D) converter, comprising:
a counter circuit for storing a digital word;
a ramp generator for generating a sequence of reference voltages which vary in accordance with at least a first transfer function of said digital word and a second transfer function of said digital word;
a comparator for comparing the magnitude of one of said reference voltages with a magnitude of an input signal; and
a control circuit for determining the digital word corresponding to the input signal by repeatedly:
comparing the magnitude of the input signal with the magnitude of a most recently generated reference voltage of said sequence,
incrementing said counter, and
causing said ramp generator to generate a new one of said sequence,

until the magnitude of the most recently generated reference voltage of said sequence exceeds the magnitude of said input signal.

2. The converter of claim 1, wherein said first transfer function maps each digital word stored in said counter below a first threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner.

3. The converter of claim 2, wherein said second transfer function maps a set of non-sequential and increasing digital words stored in said counter each having a magnitude at least equal to said first threshold to corresponding reference signals in a linear manner.

4. The converter of claim 2, wherein said second transfer function maps each increasing digital word stored in said counter having a magnitude at least equal to said first threshold to corresponding reference signals in a logarithmic manner.

5. The converter of claim 1, wherein said counter circuit comprises:
a controller for receiving a reset signal and a clock signal;
a register, coupled to said controller; and
a memory, coupled to said controller,
wherein:
when a clock signal is supplied to said controller, said controller reads a next value from said memory and stores said next value in said register, and
said memory stores a plurality of numbers in a non-sequential and increasing manner.

6. The converter of claim 5, wherein said memory is a non-volatile memory.

7. The converter of claim 1, wherein said counter circuit comprises:
a counter; and
circuitry for incrementing said digital word stored in said counter by one.

8. The converter of claim 1, wherein said ramp generator comprises:
a plurality of capacitor banks, each bank comprising:
a plurality of capacitors having equal capacitance,
a bank output line coupled to a first plate of each capacitor, and
a bank control circuit, coupled to a second plate of each capacitor, and for switchably coupling the second plate of any one of said capacitors to either a first voltage source or a second voltage source;

a master output line, coupled to each bank output line; and
a master controller, for sending control signal to each bank control circuit to a master voltage at said master output line to generate said sequence of voltages.

9. The converter of claim 8, wherein a capacitance of any capacitor in a first capacitor bank is different from a capacitance of any capacitor in a second capacitor bank.

10. The converter of claim 8, wherein the capacitance of any capacitor in a first capacitor bank is a power of 2 of a capacitance of any capacitor in a second capacitor bank.

11. A imaging system, comprising:
a pixel array;
a sample and hold circuit, coupled to said pixel array;
a driver, coupled to said sample and hold circuit;
an analog to digital (A/D) converter, coupled to said sample and hold circuit, said A/D converter comprising:
a counter circuit for storing a digital word;
a ramp generator for generating a sequence of reference voltages which vary in accordance with at least a first transfer function of said digital word and a second transfer function of said digital word;
a comparator for comparing the magnitude of one of said reference voltages with a magnitude of an input signal; and
a control circuit for determining the digital word corresponding to the input signal by repeatedly:
comparing the magnitude of the input signal with the magnitude of a most recently generated reference voltage of said sequence,
incrementing said counter, and
causing said ramp generator to generate a new one of said sequence,

until the magnitude of the most recently generated reference voltage of said sequence exceeds the magnitude of said input signal;
a digital processing circuit, coupled said A/D converter;
a storage circuit, coupled to said digital processing circuit; and
a control circuit, coupled to said pixel array, sample and hold circuit, driver, A/D converter, digital processing circuit, and storage circuit.

12. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein said first transfer function maps each digital word stored in said counter below said first threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner.

13. The imaging system of claim 12, wherein said second transfer function maps a set of non-sequential and increasing digital words stored in said counter each having a magnitude at least equal to said first threshold to corresponding reference signals in a linear manner.

14. The imaging system of claim 12, wherein said second transfer function maps each increasing digital word stored in said counter having a magnitude at least equal to said first threshold to corresponding reference signals in a logarithmic manner.

15. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein said counter circuit comprises:
a controller for receiving a reset signal and a clock signal;
a register, coupled to said controller; and
a memory, coupled to said controller,
wherein:
when a clock signal is supplied to said controller, said controller reads a next value from said memory and stores said next value in said register, and
said memory stores a plurality of numbers in a non-sequential and increasing manner.

16. The imaging system of claim 15, wherein said memory is a non-volatile memory.

17. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein said counter circuit comprises:
a counter; and
circuitry for incrementing said digital word stored in said counter by one.

18. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein said ramp generator comprises:
a plurality of capacitor banks, each bank comprising:
a plurality of capacitors having equal capacitance,
a bank output line, coupled to a first plate of each capacitor, and
a bank control circuit, coupled to a second plate of each capacitor, and for switchably coupling the second plate of any one of said capacitors to either a first voltage source or a second voltage source;

a master output line, coupled to each bank output line; and
a master controller, for sending control signal to each bank control circuit to a master voltage at said master output line to generate said sequence of voltages.

19. The imaging system of claim 18, wherein a capacitance of any capacitor in a first capacitor bank is different from a capacitance of any capacitor in a second capacitor bank.

20. The imaging system of claim 18, wherein the capacitance of any capacitor in a first capacitor bank is a power of 2 of a capacitance of any capacitor in a second capacitor bank.

21. A processor based system, comprising:
a bus;
a processor coupled to said bus;
a imaging subsystem, coupled to said bus;
wherein said imaging subsystem comprises:
a pixel array;
a sample and hold circuit, coupled to said pixel array;
a driver, coupled to said sample and hold circuit;
an analog to digital (A/D) converter, coupled to said sample and hold circuit, said A/D converter comprising:
a counter circuit for storing a digital word;
a ramp generator for generating a sequence of reference voltages which vary in accordance with at least a first transfer function of said digital word and a second transfer function of said digital word;
a comparator for comparing the magnitude of one of said reference voltages with a magnitude of an input signal; and
a first control circuit for determining the digital word corresponding to the input signal by repeatedly:
comparing the magnitude of the input signal with the magnitude of a most recently generated reference voltage of said sequence,
incrementing said counter, and
causing said ramp generator to generate a new one of said sequence,

until the magnitude of the most recently generated reference voltage of said sequence exceeds the magnitude of said input signal;
a digital processing circuit, coupled said A/D converter;
a storage circuit, coupled to said digital processing circuit; and
a second control circuit, coupled to said pixel array, sample and hold circuit, driver, A/D converter, digital processing circuit, and storage circuit.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said first transfer function maps each digital word stored in said counter below said first threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said second transfer function maps a set of non-sequential and increasing digital words stored in said counter each having a magnitude at least equal to said first threshold to corresponding reference signals in a linear manner.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said second transfer function maps each increasing digital word stored in said counter having a magnitude at least equal to said first threshold to corresponding reference signals in a logarithmic manner.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein:
said counter circuit comprises:
a controller for receiving a reset signal and a clock signal;
a register, coupled to said controller; and
a memory, coupled to said controller;

when a clock signal is supplied to said controller, said controller reads a next value from said memory and stores said next value in said register; and
said memory stores a plurality of number in a non-sequential and increasing manner.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said memory is a non-volatile memory.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein said counter circuit comprises:
a counter; and
circuitry for incrementing said digital word stored in said counter by one.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein said ramp generator comprises:
a plurality of capacitor banks, each bank comprising:
a plurality of capacitors having equal capacitance,
a bank output line, coupled to a first plate of each capacitor, and
a bank control circuit, coupled to a second plate of each capacitor, and for switchably coupling the second plate of any one of said capacitors to either a first voltage source or a second voltage source;

a master output line, coupled to each bank output line; and
a master controller, for sending control signal to each bank control circuit to a master voltage at said master output line to generate said sequence of voltages.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein a capacitance of any capacitor in a first capacitor bank is different from a capacitance of any capacitor in a second capacitor bank.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the capacitance of any capacitor in a first capacitor bank is a power of 2 of a capacitance of any capacitor in a second capacitor bank.

31. A method for converting an analog signal to a digital word, comprising:
measuring a magnitude of said analog signal;
mapping said magnitude to a digital word with a first and second transfer function only, wherein:
if said magnitude is less than a predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to said digital word exclusively with said first transfer function,
if said magnitude is at least equal to said predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to said digital word exclusively with said second transfer function,
said first transfer function is not included in said second transfer function, and
said second transfer function is not included in said first transfer function.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said first transfer function maps each magnitude below said predetermined threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner.

33. A method for converting an analog signal to a digital word, comprising:
measuring a magnitude of said analog signal;
if said magnitude is not greater than a predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to a digital word in accordance with a first transfer function; and
if said magnitude is at least equal to said predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to the digital word in accordance with a second transfer function;
wherein:
said first transfer function maps each magnitude below said predetermined threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner, and
said second transfer function maps a set of non-sequential and increasing magnitudes each at least equal to said predetermined threshold to corresponding reference signals in a linear manner.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein said second transfer function maps each magnitude at least equal to said predetermined threshold to corresponding reference signals in a logarithmic manner.

35. A method for operating an imaging system, comprising:
receiving an analog pixel signal from a pixel;
converting said analog pixel signal into a digital word, wherein said converting comprises:
measuring a magnitude of said analog signal;
mapping said magnitude to a digital word with a first and second transfer function only, wherein:
if said magnitude is less than a predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to said digital word exclusively with said first transfer function,
if said magnitude is at least equal to said predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to said digital word exclusively with said second transfer function,
said first transfer function is not included in said second transfer function, and
said second transfer function is not included in said first transfer function.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said first transfer function maps each magnitude below said predetermined threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner.

37. A method for operating an imaging system, comprising:
receiving an analog pixel signal from a pixel;
converting said analog pixel signal into a digital word, wherein said converting comprises:
measuring a magnitude of said analog signal;
if said magnitude is not greater than a predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to a digital word in accordance with a first transfer function; and
if said magnitude is at least equal to said predetermined threshold, mapping said magnitude to the digital word in accordance with a second transfer function,
wherein:
said first transfer function maps each magnitude below said predetermined threshold to a corresponding reference signal in a linear manner, and
said second transfer function maps a set of non-sequential and increasing magnitudes each at least equal to said predetermined threshold to corresponding reference signals in a linear manner.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein said second transfer function maps each magnitude at least equal to said predetermined threshold to corresponding reference signals in a logarithmic manner.