Pixel circuit and image sensor device
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image sensor device, and more particularly, to a pixel circuit employing a plurality of transfer transistors and an image sensor device.
Background
In a typical CMOS image sensor circuit, a transfer transistor is used to transfer electrons generated by a photo-effect from a photosensitive element, such as a photodiode PD, to a floating diffusion node FD, and fig. 1 is a prior art pixel circuit. In different application environments, such as a low light scene and a high light scene, the sensitivity of the image sensor device in the low light scene is relatively weak, and in order to improve the signal read out in the low light scene to reach the signal in the high light scene, a dual-gain pixel design mode is generally adopted. In a low light scene, the pixel circuit of the image sensor operates in a high conversion gain mode, and the sensitivity is high. In high light scenes, the pixel circuits of the image sensor operate in a low conversion gain mode with relatively low sensitivity, but are able to read out more signals.
In large pixel (pixel array) image sensor circuit designs, where the photodiodes have many full well signals, large-sized transfer transistors are required to complete the signal transfer. This can cause other problems, such as a large parasitic capacitance at the floating diffusion point, a high conversion gain, and reduced maximum sensitivity, thereby limiting normal use in low light scenes.
In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a high-performance pixel design circuit and an image sensor device, which are used for improving the sensitivity of the image sensor device in a low light scene, not increasing the parasitic capacitance of a floating diffusion point, improving the conversion gain of a circuit and improving the full-well signal control.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a pixel circuit, which adopts a plurality of transmission transistors: a high conversion gain pass transistor and one or more low conversion gain pass transistors, the pixel circuit comprising:
a reset transistor, the drain of which is connected with a first voltage source, and resets the circuit and the floating diffusion point voltage according to a reset control signal;
a dual conversion gain transistor connected between the reset transistor and a floating diffusion point;
a capacitor having one pole connected between the reset transistor and the dual conversion gain transistor;
a photodiode for converting incident light into electrons in a photoelectric effect;
a high conversion gain transfer transistor connected between the photodiode and the floating diffusion point, for transferring electrons output from the photodiode to the floating diffusion point in a low light scene;
one or more low conversion gain transfer transistors connected to the photodiode to transfer electrons output from the photodiode together with the high conversion gain transfer transistor in a low light scene;
an output unit including an amplifying transistor having a drain connected to a first voltage source, a drain connected to the floating diffusion point, and a source output connected to the row select transistor; the row select transistor connects the pixel circuit signal to an output to a column line; the amplifying transistor may be a source follower transistor;
optionally, the pixel circuit further includes an anti-overflow transistor connected to the photodiode for performing full well control on the photodiode;
optionally, the anti-overflow transistor is connected to the first voltage source or to a separate second voltage source;
optionally, the plurality of low conversion gain transmission transistors form one or more transmission branches, and the plurality of low conversion gain transmission transistors are respectively arranged in different transmission branches or in the same transmission branch; the one or more transmission branches are respectively connected to the photodiodes;
optionally, the capacitor is a device capacitor or a parasitic capacitor of a connection point of the reset transistor and the dual conversion gain transistor to ground; the appointed voltage connected with the other electrode of the device capacitor is an appointed voltage value or a ground terminal.
The invention also provides an image sensor device which comprises a pixel array formed by a plurality of pixel circuits which are arranged in rows and columns;
the image sensor device further includes peripheral circuitry to control and process the output of the pixel array.
The pixel circuit and the image sensor device provided by the invention work under a low light scene, and the high conversion gain transmission transistor can effectively improve the conversion gain and the sensitivity of the pixel circuit; the low conversion gain transmission transistor and the high conversion gain transmission transistor work in a high light scene, and can fully transmit circuit signals. Meanwhile, the pixel circuit and the image sensor device can also realize full-well control of the photodiode, prevent signal overflow and effectively improve the pixel quality of the pixel circuit and the image sensor device.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pixel circuit of an image sensor in the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a pixel circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a timing diagram of a pixel circuit according to an embodiment of the invention;
fig. 4 is a block diagram of a pixel circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system
Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a pixel circuit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a pixel circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 3 is a timing diagram of the pixel circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 2, the high conversion gain transfer transistor tx_hcg and the low conversion gain transfer transistor tx_lcg are respectively connected to the photodiode PD, and transfer and output electrons generated by the photoelectric effect of the photodiode PD from the incident light. The high conversion gain transfer transistor tx_hcg is connected to the floating diffusion FD, and the low conversion gain transfer transistor tx_lcg is connected to the connection point of the reset transistor RST and the dual conversion gain transistor DCG. The capacitor C may be a device capacitor or a parasitic capacitance of the junction of the reset transistor RST and the dual conversion gain transistor DCG. The other pole of the device capacitance C may be connected to a fixed voltage or ground, depending on the application. In conjunction with the circuit timing shown in fig. 3, the implementation procedure of the pixel circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention is as follows:
firstly, a reset transistor RST, a double conversion gain transistor DCG, a high conversion gain transmission transistor TX_HCG and a low conversion gain transmission transistor TX_LCG are all set to be high level, and each transistor is conducted to reset a circuit and a photodiode PD;
the pulse light source is turned on to expose the photodiode PD, a control signal of the reset transistor RST is set to be low level when the exposure is finished, a control signal of the double conversion gain transistor DCG is set to be high level, the double conversion gain transistor DCG is conducted, charges stored in the capacitor C are transferred to the floating diffusion point FD, the row selection transistor RS is conducted, and the pixel circuit outputs a reference voltage VL0 when the conversion gain is low;
the control signal of the dual conversion gain transistor DCG is set to a low level, the control signal of the row selection transistor RS is set to a high level, the dual conversion gain transistor DCG is turned off, the row selection transistor RS is turned on, and the pixel circuit outputs a reference voltage VH0 when the conversion gain is high;
the photodiode integration process is finished, the control signal of the high conversion gain transmission transistor TX_HCG is set to be high level, the control signal of the row selection transistor RS is set to be high level, and the row selection transistor RS is conducted; the high conversion gain transfer transistor tx_hcg transfers electrons to the floating diffusion FD, outputting the high conversion gain time signal voltage VH1 via the row selection transistor RS;
setting the control signal of the dual conversion gain transistor DCG, the control signal of the high conversion gain transmission transistor tx_hcg and the control signal of the low conversion gain transmission transistor tx_lcg to be high levels, respectively turning on the dual conversion gain transistor DCG, the high conversion gain transmission transistor tx_hcg and the low conversion gain transmission transistor tx_lcg, and respectively transferring charges output by the high conversion gain transmission transistor tx_hcg and the low conversion gain transmission transistor tx_lcg and charges in the capacitor C to the floating diffusion point FD;
the control signal of the row select transistor RS is set to a high level, the row select transistor RS is turned on, and the pixel circuit outputs a low conversion gain signal VL1 from the floating diffusion FD.
Correlation operations are performed on VL0, VL1, VH0, and VH1, respectively, to obtain signal voltages vl=vl 1-VL0 in the low conversion gain mode, and signal voltages vh=vh 1-VH0 in the high conversion gain mode. By processing the image signals in different gain modes, a frame of high-quality image signal can be obtained.
In the application of the pixel circuit shown in fig. 2, the high conversion gain transmission transistor generally works under the low light scene, so that the conversion gain and the sensitivity of the pixel circuit can be effectively improved; the low conversion gain transmission transistor and the high conversion gain transmission transistor work in a high light scene, and can fully transmit circuit signals.
Fig. 4 is a pixel circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is different from the first embodiment in that the pixel circuit further includes an anti-overflow transistor AB connected to the photodiode PD, and is mainly used for controlling the full-well signal of the photodiode PD to avoid crosstalk between pixels caused by the overflow signal, which affects the image quality output by the pixel circuit. In the second embodiment, the voltage source connected to the anti-overflow transistor AB may be the same as the first voltage source VDD of the reset transistor RST, or separate voltage sources may be used. As shown in fig. 4, the voltage source connected to the anti-overflow transistor AB is VDD0, and the voltage source connected to the reset transistor RST is VDD1. The implementation of the circuit in fig. 4 is similar to that of the first embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, and will not be described again.
Fig. 5 is a pixel circuit according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which includes a plurality of low conversion gain transmission transistors tx_lcg transmission branches, as two branches are shown in the figure, unlike the first and second embodiments. As shown in fig. 5, the low conversion gain transfer transistors of the two branches are connected to the photodiodes PD, respectively, and transfer charges generated by the photoelectric effect after the exposure of the photodiodes PD, respectively. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of low conversion gain transmission transistors tx_lcg are sequentially connected and arranged in the same transmission branch, for example, tx_lcg1, tx_lcg2, tx_lcg3 and … are not shown in the present example.
The present invention also provides an image sensor device including the pixel circuit described in each of the above embodiments. The image sensor device includes the pixel circuit array provided in the above-described embodiments in which a plurality of rows and columns are arranged. The image sensor device further includes peripheral circuits for mainly controlling and processing the outputs of the pixel circuits.
Examples given in the embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the explanation and illustration of the summary of the invention presented. The above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Reasonable revisions or modifications may be made to the embodiments of the invention that fall within the scope of the invention.