Patent ID: 8878255

Claim:
An image sensor comprising: two or more pixel sub-arrays each comprising at least one output structure for conversion of charge to voltage, at least one of the sub-arrays comprising: a region of active pixels each comprising (i) a photo-sensitive region (PSR) for converting light into electrical charge and (ii) a vertical channel for transfer of charge from the PSR, electrically and directly connected to and positioned below the region of active pixels, a fanned region of dark pixels each (i) comprising a vertical channel for transferring charge and (ii) shielded from incident light, electrically and directly connected to and positioned below the fanned region of dark pixels, an unfanned region of dark pixels each (i) comprising a vertical channel for transferring charge and (ii) shielded from incident light, electrically and directly connected to and positioned below the unfanned region of dark pixels, a horizontal CCD (HCCD), and electrically connected to the HCCD, an output structure for conversion of charge to voltage, wherein (i) a width of the dark pixels in the fanned region decreases along a direction extending from the array of active pixels to the unfanned region, and (ii) a width of the dark pixels in the unfanned region is substantially constant along a direction extending from the fanned region to the HCCD.