Patent ID: 7514716

Claim:
An imaging device comprising: a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising a photosensor, a first gate for storing charge from the photosensor when activated by a first control signal during a sampling period, a floating diffusion region for storing charge transferred from the photosensor after an integration period, and a second gate connected to receive a voltage flag and output the voltage flag to the floating diffusion region in response to a second control signal; and a plurality of sense circuits, each sense circuit being connected to and associated with a column of pixels, each sense circuit generating the first control signal during the sampling period for a selected pixel in its respective column and sensing an amount of charge stored under the first gate of the selected pixel, each sense circuit having an output connected the second gate of the selected pixel and outputting the voltage flag which is representative of the sensed charge to the second gate, wherein the pixel stores the voltage flag in its floating diffusion region during the sampling period to set an integration time for the selected pixel.