Patent ID: 8692175

Claim:
An image sensor with active pixels, each pixel comprising at least one photodiode, a charge storage node, an electron multiplication amplification structure, means for transferring electrons from the photodiode to the amplification structure, means for transferring electrons from the amplification structure to the storage node after multiplication, a transistor for reinitializing the potential of the storage node, the sensor furthermore comprising a reading circuit for sampling the potential of the charge storage node after reinitialization and after transfer of the electrons into the storage node and for providing a corresponding illumination measurement, the sensor furthermore comprising means for effecting in the course of an image frame a first transfer of charge from the photodiode to the multiplication structure after a first duration and for then giving the amplification structure a first electron multiplication factor before a first transfer of charge from the multiplication structure into the storage node, means for effecting in the course of the same image frame a second transfer of charge from the photodiode to the multiplication structure after a second duration and for then giving the structure a second electron multiplication factor (k 2 ) different from the first before a second transfer of charge from the amplification structure to the storage node, and means for selecting pixel by pixel an illumination measurement corresponding to the first factor or to the second factor as a function of the illumination of the pixel.