Patent Abstract:
An imaging system utilizes an exposure control circuit to control the length of an exposure in full frame mode. The exposure control circuit receives as an input the antiblooming current from at least a representative sample of pixels and determines when to end an exposure based on the amount of current received.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/892,318, filed on Jul. 16, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,825,973 the subject matter of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to semiconductor imagers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an exposure control system for semiconductor imagers which run in a full-frame mode. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a conventional pixel  100  coupled via interconnect  125  to a conventional pixel reading circuit  150 . The pixel  100  includes a photodiode  101 , transistors  110 - 114 , and nodes A, B, E, and P. Additionally, control signals AB, RESET, TX, and ROW can be respectively applied to the antiblooming transistor  113 , reset transistor  110 , transfer transistor  114 , and row select transistor  112 . Node A is connected to a voltage source for the pixel  100 . Node E is a charge storage node. Node P is a charge accumulation node of the photodiode  101 . The outputs produced by the pixel  100  are made available at node B. These outputs include a reset output voltage Vrst and a pixel image signal output voltage Vsig. The pixel reading circuit  150  includes a photo signal sample-and-hold (S/H) circuit SHS  151  for sampling and holding the Vsig output voltage, a reset signal S/H circuit SHR  152  for sampling and holding the Vrst output voltage, an amplifier  153 , and nodes C and D. As illustrated, interconnect  125  couples the output of the pixel signal at node B to the input of the pixel reading signal at node C. 
     As is well known, the pixel  100  is operated by first asserting the RESET control signal while the photodiode  101  is not exposed to light to cause a reset voltage to be applied to charge stage node E and the pixel  100  to output a reset signal Vrst through transistors  111  and  112 . The RESET controls signal is then deasserted and the photodiode  101  is exposed to light during a charge integration period, i.e., an exposure period. Upon completion of the integration, the accumulated charge is transferred to storage node E by transistor  114  causing the pixel to output a photo signal Vsig through transistors  111  and  112 . Both the reset signal Vrst and the photo signal Vsig are output at node B, albeit at different times. During the exposure, the photodiode  101  accumulates charge at node P based on the amount of incident light and the exposure time, which is transferred by transistor  114  to storage node E. 
     The reset signal Vrst is sampled and held by the reset signal S/H circuit  152 , while the photo signal Vsig is sampled and held by the photo signal S/H circuit  151 . The sampled and held photo and reset signals are supplied as inputs to differential amplifier  153 , and the resulting amplified output signal is available at node D. Transitor  113  is an antiblooming transistor which operates in response to control signal AB during the integration period to remove excess charge, which would otherwise saturate the pixel, from node P. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram for an imager  200  having a pixel array  201 . Each pixel  100  of array  200  may have the architecture as shown in  FIG. 1  or other well-known pixel architectures. Pixel array  201  comprises a plurality of pixels  100  arranged in a predetermined number of columns and rows. The pixels  100  of each row in array  201  are all turned on at the same time by a row select line, e.g., a line that couples row select signal ROW to the gate of transistor  112  ( FIG. 1 ), and the output signals Vrst, Vsig of the pixels  100  of each column are selectively output to node D by column select lines under control of column driver  260 . After reaching node D, the output signals Vrst, Vsig are routed to an image processor  280 , which performs additional signal processing. Once all the pixels of an image have been processed by the signal processor  280 , they may be output to another device (e.g., a display device, a storage device, or a printing device) via output circuit  290 . A plurality of row and column lines are provided for the entire array  201 . The row lines are selectively activated by the row driver  210  in response to row address decoder  220  and the column select lines are selectively activated by the column driver  260  in response to column address decoder  270 . Thus, a row and column address is provided for each pixel  100 . The imager  200  may further include additional well known components, such as a lens assembly, which are not illustrated in order to avoid cluttering the figure. 
     The imager  200  is operated by the control circuit  250  which controls address decoders  220 ,  270  for selecting the appropriate row and column lines for pixel readout, and row and column driver circuitry  210 ,  260  which apply driving voltage to the drive transistors of the selected row and column lines. The control circuit  250  also controls when, and for how long, light is incident upon the pixel array  201 . The control can be via a mechanical shutter which masks and unmasks the pixel array  201  from light focused by a lens assembly (not illustrated), or alternatively, for application in otherwise unlit environments, the control circuit  250  can pulse a light source  295 . 
     It is often desirable to run the imager  200  in full frame mode, i.e., to expose every pixel  100  in the pixel array  201  simultaneously. In order to handle various lighting conditions, there must be an exposure controller to determine when to start (i.e., reset pixels and then open shutter or turn on the light source) and when to stop (i.e., close the shutter and/or turn off the light source, and read the pixel signal) the exposure. Typically, exposure time is calculated by metering the amount of light from a subject and setting the exposure time to permit an adequate exposure from that level of light. This method, however, is problematic in that the metered amount of light may not reflect the actual light level during exposure. For example, light levels may increase or decrease between the time of metering (and thus setting of the exposure time) and the time of the exposure. Ideally, the pixels should be non-destructively read during exposure and the exposure terminated before too many pixels oversaturate. However, some pixel architectures, such as that illustrated in  FIG. 1 , cannot be non-destructively read, and other pixel architectures which can be non-destructively read consume more power. In larger pixel arrays, non-destructive reads may take too long to perform and may consume too much operating current. Additionally, many pixels which support non-destructive reads do not support correlated double sampling, which is useful for reducing noise during read out. 
     There is therefore a need for a pixel architecture compatible with an exposure control circuit which can reliably control, even in large pixel arrays, the exposure process regardless of whether the pixels  100  of the imager  200  support non-destructive reads. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Exemplary embodiments of the method and apparatus of the present invention provide an imaging system having a pixel architecture and a corresponding exposure control circuit that permits the imaging system to exercise reliable exposure control without requiring non-destructive pixel reads during an exposure. Reliable exposure control is achieved by coupling the antiblooming signal output of several pixels to the exposure control circuit and using a combined antiblooming output signal as a metric to judge exposure. An exposure may be continued as long as the combined antiblooming output signal is below a predetermined threshold, as the combined antiblooming output signal is representative of the number of pixels which have reached saturation. The pixel architecture and exposure control circuit of the present invention is compatible with small pixel arrays but is also scalable to large pixel arrays, including those pixel arrays large enough to be infeasible for the non-destructive read technique. 
    
    
     
       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  illustrates a conventional pixel and associated pixel reading circuit; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a conventional imaging system; 
         FIG. 3A  illustrates a pixel according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  illustrates the relationship between a plurality of the pixel of  FIG. 3A  and an exposure control circuit; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the exposure control circuit of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating the relationship between various control signals of the pixel and exposure control circuit of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates how an imaging system incorporating the pixel and exposure control circuit of the present invention may be integrated into another device; 
         FIG. 7A  illustrates an alternate exemplary embodiment for the pixel of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7B  is a supplemental timing diagram illustrating the timing requirements of an supplemental control signal used in the alternate embodiment of  FIG. 7A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Now referring to the drawings, where like reference numerals designate like elements, there is shown in  FIG. 3A  a block diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a pixel  300  in accordance with the present invention. The pixel  300  of  FIG. 3A  includes many of the same components as the pixel  100  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . For example, the pixel  300  includes the same photodiode  101 , transistors  110 - 114 , and nodes A, B, E, and P as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3A . However, the output of the antiblooming transistor  113  is now coupled to a new node F. Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , in a pixel array  201 ′ comprising pixels  300 , the nodes F of all of the pixels  300  are coupled together; the aggregated signal from each node F is supplied via an interconnect  301  to an exposure control circuit  350  (described in greater detail below). 
     The pixel  300  operates in a similar manner as the conventional pixel  100 . That is, the pixel  300  is supplied a pixel operating voltage (e.g., VAAPIX) at node A and outputs at different times a reset signal Vrst and a photo signal Vsig at node B. The pixel  300  first outputs the reset signal Vrst, then the exposure control circuit  350  permits the photodiode  101  to integrate incident light during an exposure. Once the exposure is completed, the exposure control circuit  350  interrupts the incident light, and the photo signal Vsig is supplied to node B. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the reset signal Vrst is obtained by toggling the control signal RESET to a high logical state, thereby permitting transistor  110  to conduct. The TX signal is also toggled high, permitting the transfer transistor  114  to conduct. With the transfer transistor  114  conducting, the voltage (e.g., VAAPIX) supplied to node A is applied to the node P, a source/drain of transistor  111 , and the gate of transistor  111 . After a predetermined time, the RESET signal and the TX signal are toggled low, thereby permitting the potential at node P to float at approximately VAAPIX. Alternatively, the photodiode  101  can be reset by setting the control signal AB to a high level while keeping control signals TX and RESET low. 
     With the TX signal low, the exposure control circuit  350  causes incident light to be routed to the photodiode  101 , causing the photodiode  101  to transfer charge to node P, thereby steadily decreasing the potential of node P. That is, the potential, previously floating at approximately VAAPIX (or, for example, Vpin for pinned photodiodes), beings to fall at a rate proportional to the amount of light incident on the photodiode  101  over the exposure time. If during the exposure the potential at node P drops below a predetermined threshold, the antiblooming transistor  113  is placed into a conductive state by the AB control signal. The predetermined threshold can be varied by controlling the level of control signal AB, to determine when the antiblooming transistor  113  conducts. The effect of the conducting antiblooming transistor  113  is to cause a current to flow from node F to node P during over exposure. This current is equal the amount of current being supplied by the photodiode  101 , and node P remains at the predetermined voltage while the antiblooming transistor  113  is conducting. 
     When the exposure control circuit  350  ends the exposure, either the mechanical shutter is closed or the source light is turned off, and a rolling shutter read out commences on successive rows of pixels. The control signal TX is toggled high, causing transfer transistor  114  to conduct. The charge accumulated at node P is applied to the gate of transistor  111 , causing current to flow from node A through transistor  111  and towards node B, when the control signal ROW is high and permitting transistor  112  to conduct. The control signal ROW is controlled via the timing and control circuit  250  ( FIG. 2 ) by applying the appropriate control signals to the row decoder  220  and row driver  210 . 
     Thus, it can be seen that the pixel  300  operates in a manner similar to pixel  100 . One notable difference between pixel  300  and pixel  100 , however, is that at the onset of blooming, a current flows from node F to node P. The above described operation occurs on each one of the pixels  300  of the pixel array  201 ′. Thus, during full frame operation, the aggregate current supplied to interconnect  301 , which is coupled to each node F of each pixel  300  in the pixel array  201 ′, is based on how many pixels are at the onset of antiblooming, and how strongly the photodiodes  101  of each such pixel  300  are producing charge as a result of the light incident upon each respective pixel  300 . The signal on interconnect  301 , which is supplied to the exposure control circuit  350 , therefore forms an indicator regarding the exposure level of the pixel array  201 ′ as a whole. 
       FIG. 4  is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the exposure control circuit  350 . In an imaging system, the exposure control circuit  350  is preferably integrated into the timing and control circuit (e.g.,  FIG. 6 , circuit  250 ′). The exposure control circuit  350 , however, can also be a stand alone circuit. As illustrated, the exposure control circuit  350  includes transistors  401  and  402 , each of which has a source/drain coupled to a potential source (e.g., VAAPIX), and configured as a current mirror to mirror the current flowing on interconnect  301 . The exposure control circuit  350  further includes another transistor  410 , a capacitor  411 , and nodes H and G. 
     Now also referring to the timing diagram of  FIG. 5 , shortly before the start of the exposure, a control signal EXPOSURE_START is toggled high at time t 0 . During this time, each pixel  300  is placed into a reset state. At the start of exposure, the EXPOSURE_START control signal is toggled low (time t 1 ). The EXPOSURE_START control signal is also supplied to node H of the exposure control circuit  350 . Thus, while the EXPOSURE_START control is asserted high (i.e., between times t 0  and t 1 ), node G and capacitor  411  is shorted to ground. 
     Since the potential at node P is initially approximately VAAPIX, the antiblooming transistor  113  in each pixel  300  is non-conducting and thus the current at node E is zero. During the exposure, it is likely that some of the pixels of the array  201 ′ will reach their respective antiblooming thresholds, causing the antiblooming transistor  113  to conduct as indicated above (e.g., time t 2 ). As previously described, this causes a current to flow at node F of each such pixel  300 . The aggregated current from each node F is supplied on interconnect  301  to the current mirror formed by transistors  401 ,  402  of the exposure control circuit  350 . Since the EXPOSURE_START control signal is low, transistor  410  is non-conducting. As a result, the output of transistor  402  of the current mirror formed by transistors  401 ,  402  beings to charge capacitor  411 , thereby causing the potential at node G to increase. Node G is the source of the EXPOSURE_STOP control signal used to end the exposure process. Thus, the EXPOSURE_STOP control signal builds from low to high based on current flowing on interconnect  301 , which is itself based on the exposure condition of every pixel  300  in the pixel array  201 ′ ( FIG. 3B ). Once the EXPOSURE_STOP control signal has reached a predetermined voltage level (e.g., logical high), the exposure is stopped (time t 3 ). In this manner, the exposure time can be accurately controlled without requiring non-destructive reads of any pixel, and for any pixel array  201 ′ regardless of the number of pixels  300  contained therein. Note that, in order to save power, analog circuitry and analog-to-digital conversion circuitry in the column driver  260  ( FIG. 1 ) can be powered down until time t 3 . 
       FIG. 6  is an illustration of a imaging system  600  utilizing the pixel  300  and exposure control circuit  350  of the invention. As illustrated, the system  600  includes many of the components found in a conventional system  200 , but include the pixels  300  of the present invention in pixel array  201 ′. Node F&#39;s of each pixel  300  are coupled to interconnect  301  ( FIG. 3B ), which is also coupled to the exposure control circuit  350  (preferably a part of the timing and control circuit  250 ′). The EXPOSURE_START control signal is generated by the timing and control circuit  250 ′ and provided to the exposure control circuit  350  and a shutter and/or light source  601 , while the EXPOSURE_STOP control signal is generated by the exposure control circuit  350  and supplied to the shutter and/or light source  601 . 
     The imaging system  600  may be a portion of another component  700 . Component  700  can be any type of component, including, for example, a camera, a portable telephone, a medical imaging device in the form of a pill, etc. 
     The present invention can also be practiced using the conventional pixel  100 , albeit with some modifications to the pixel array. Referring back to  FIG. 1 , it can be seen that in the conventional pixel  100 , one source/drain of the antiblooming transistor  113  is coupled to node P while the other source/drain is coupled to node A. Node A is coupled to a voltage source (e.g., VAAPIX). This embodiment takes advantage of the fact that the potential source VAAPIX is not used while the photodiode  110  is in the integration mode, i.e., between exposure start (time t 1 ) and exposure stop (time t 3 ). Therefore, instead of gating the current from node F to a node P, this alternate embodiment uses a conventional pixel architecture in which the current flows to node A, and tie each pixel  100 &#39;s node A is tied to line  301 . 
     Now also referring to  FIG. 7A , another exemplary embodiment uses a modified exposure control circuit  350 ′. The modified exposure control circuit  350 ′ is almost identical to the exposure control circuit  350  ( FIG. 4 ). However, circuit  350 ′ includes an extra transistor  403 , which controllably couples the VAAPIX 2  voltage supplied to one source drain of transistors  401 - 403  to line  301  via a new control signal EXP#. Signal EXP# is applied to the gate of transistor  403 . In this embodiment VAAPIX 2  is at the same level as VAAPIX, but VAAPIX is no longer an ideal voltage source while VAAPIX 2  is an ideal voltage source. That is, VAAPIX and VAAPIX 2  are nominally set to the same potential level but VAAPIX can be pulled down while VAAPIX 2  will remain at the same potential. Now also referring to  FIGS. 5 and 7B , it can be seen that the new control signal EXP# is operated to be at a logical high level between exposure start (i.e., time t 1 ) and exposure stop (i.e., time t 3 ) and be at a logical low level at all other times. 
     The effect of operating the control signal EXP# in the above described manner is to cause the new transistor  403  to conduct VAAPIX 2  to line  301  during the reset phase and after the exposure stop phase, thereby ensuring that VAAPIX to is not pulled down to any other potential level during the times when VAAPIX is required to be at its initial level. At other times, when control signal EXP# is high (i.e., between exposure start and exposure stop), the new transistor  403  is switched off, thereby isolating line  301  from VAAPIX 2 . Thus, line  301  behaves as in the first embodiment. That is, the antiblooming current from node P of each pixel will affect the voltage of VAAPIX at node A in each pixel, and in each pixel, node A is coupled to line  301 . In this manner, the same pixel  100  can be used with a new control circuit  350 ′ to practice the invention. 
     The invention may also be practiced by coupling the node F of only a representative sample of pixels to line  301  instead of the node F from every pixel. 
     Now referring back to  FIG. 3A , the portion of the figure within the boundary  310  illustrates a standard “4T” (without anti-blooming) pixel. The present invention may also be practiced with a standard “4T” (without anti-blooming) pixel. Exposure detection can be performed by setting the control signals TX and RESET to a low (but slightly above ground potential) state. In such circumstances, when photodiode blooming occurs, a blooming current will pass through the transfer  114  and reset  110  transistors to node A. An acceptable exposure can be determined using the same technique as previously described in connection with, for example,  FIG. 7A . One drawback of implementation is that the pixel  310  has already bloomed extensively to fill up its floating diffusion when the blooming current is detected at the node A. Under such circumstances, the control signal TX can be set to a low logical state, but slightly above ground potential, and the control signal RESET can be set to a high logical state during exposure. This permits the blooming current to be detected as one or more photodiodes begin to bloom. 
     While the invention has been described in detail in connection with the exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above disclosed embodiments. 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. Additionally, it should be noted that while the invention has been explained in embodiments utilizing a “5T” type pixel architecture, i.e., a pixel architecture which includes a transfer transistor  114 , the present invention may also be adapted for operation using a “3T” (with anti-blooming) type pixel architecture, i.e., a pixel architecture which omits the transfer transistor  114 . 
     Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the foregoing description or drawings, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7