Radiant energy – Photocells; circuits and apparatus – Photocell controlled circuit
Patent
1997-04-29
1999-10-19
Westin, Edward P.
Radiant energy
Photocells; circuits and apparatus
Photocell controlled circuit
2502081, 257292, H01L 3104
Patent
active
059693371
ABSTRACT:
An integrated photosensing device includes a three-terminal photosensing device integrated within a photo-integrator semiconductor integrated circuit. The photosensing device includes a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitor merged with a junction diode, both of which are integrated on a semiconductor substrate. The photo-integrator semiconductor integrated circuit includes a voltage buffer and a number of switches for configuring the photo-integrator during an operating cycle that includes three phases. The circuit resets during the first phase and integrates during the second phase. During the third phase, the circuit forces the output impedance of the photosensing device to increase such that the signal output of the circuit is boosted. Various embodiments are described for the present invention which disclose several buffer and switch configurations for buffering the output and providing the bias requirements of the photosensing device. In one such embodiment, the voltage buffer is implemented as a source-follower circuit having an output voltage that is used to bias the MOS capacitor of the photosensing device into accumulation as opposed to using a fixed bias source. In another embodiment, an additional switch is included to separate the output node of the photo-integrator circuit into two separate node portions. These node portions are used to time share certain elements of the photo-integrator circuit when used in imaging arrays having multiple sites.
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Lucent Technologies - Inc.
Luu Thanh X.
Westin Edward P.
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