Patent ID: 8779346

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of pixel sensors, each pixel sensor comprising: a photodiode, a transfer gate that connects said photodiode to a floating diffusion node that accumulates noise when said floating diffusion node is floating, said floating diffusion node being connected to said photodiode in response to a transfer gate signal; a reset gate that connects said floating diffusion node to a reset voltage in response to a reset gate signal; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) connected to said floating diffusion node, said ADC converting a voltage on said floating diffusion node to a digital value; an output circuit that connects said ADC to a bit bus; and a controller that causes said ADCs to operate in parallel to convert said voltages on said floating diffusion nodes to said digital values in a time that is less than the time needed for said floating diffusion node to acquire ten electron equivalents of noise.