LU101200B1 - A terahertz image sensor readout circuit with clock auto-calibration unit - Google Patents
A terahertz image sensor readout circuit with clock auto-calibration unit Download PDFInfo
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- LU101200B1 LU101200B1 LU101200A LU101200A LU101200B1 LU 101200 B1 LU101200 B1 LU 101200B1 LU 101200 A LU101200 A LU 101200A LU 101200 A LU101200 A LU 101200A LU 101200 B1 LU101200 B1 LU 101200B1
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- mos transistor
- stage chopper
- clock
- pass filter
- output terminal
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
- H03D—DEMODULATION OR TRANSFERENCE OF MODULATION FROM ONE CARRIER TO ANOTHER
- H03D1/00—Demodulation of amplitude-modulated oscillations
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
- H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
- H04N25/76—Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
- H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
- H04N25/71—Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
- H04N25/75—Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Amplifiers (AREA)
- Investigating Or Analysing Materials By Optical Means (AREA)
Abstract
The present invention discloses a terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit, comprising a first-stage chopper and a second-stage chopper, an AC amplifier being connected between the first-stage chopper and the second-stage chopper, wherein a GmC low-pass filter is connected between the AC amplifier and the second-stage chopper, an output terminal of the second-stage chopper is connected with a low pass filter, and an automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit is connected between an output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter and a clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper. The present invention provides a sufficient gain to amplify a voltage signal output by a sensor; can suppress noise, mainly suppressing the flicker noise; and has the clock auto-calibration function to solve the problem of signal phase shift between modulation and demodulation.
Description
A TERAHERTZ IMAGE SENSOR READOUT CIRCUIT WITH CLOCK AUTO-CALIBRATION UNIT
Technical field
The present invention relates to the field of sensors, and more particularly, to a terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit.
Technical background
Since the energy of terahertz photons is very low, and the energy of 1THz photons is only about 4 millielectron volts, it is not easy to destroy substances to be detected, which makes the terahertz band have certain advantages in terms of imaging over infrared imaging.
The terahertz imaging technology is to use the terahertz waves to irradiate an object that needs to be detected, and acquire information on a surface of or even inside the object according to different conditions in which the terahertz waves are transmitted or reflected by the object to be detected at individual places. Continuous terahertz imaging systems can be divided into two categories, i.e. active imaging systems and passive imaging systems. The passive imaging systems directly detect the terahertz waves emitted or reflected by an object for imaging, whereas the active imaging systems require a terahertz source to irradiate the object and then perform imaging by reflected and transmitted terahertz waves [1]
Since an output signal of a terahertz detector is extremely small and the signal-to-noise ratio is very low, an additional readout circuit is required to amplify the signal output from the detector while increasing its signal noise as little as possible. Based on the current need of this readout circuit characteristic, a terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit is proposed.
[References] [1] Kui Zhang. Research on terahertz imaging readout circuit array based on CMOS technology [D], Beijing: Beijing Institute of Technology, 2015.
[2] Cezary Kolacinski, Dariusz Obrebski. The integrated selective readout amplifier for NMOS THz detectors[C]. Mixed Design of integrated Circuits and Systems, 2014: 272-277.
[3] C.C.Enz, GC.Temes. Circuit techniques for reducing the effects of op-amp imperfections: autozeroing, correlated double[J]. Proceedings of the IEEE, 1996, 84(11): 1584-1614.
Summary of the invention
An object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art and provide a terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit, which provides a sufficient gain to amplify a voltage signal output by a sensor; can suppress noise, mainly suppressing the flicker noise; and has the clock auto-calibration function to solve the problem of signal phase shift between modulation and demodulation.
The object of the present invention is achieved by the following technical solutions. A terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit of the present invention comprises a first-stage chopper and a second-stage chopper, an AC amplifier being connected between the first-stage chopper and the second-stage chopper, wherein a GmC low-pass filter is connected between the AC amplifier and the second-stage chopper, an output terminal of the second-stage chopper is connected with a low pass filter, and an automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit is connected between an output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter and a clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper; the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit is composed of a first MOS transistor, a second MOS transistor, a third MOS transistor, a fourth MOS transistor, a fifth MOS transistor, a sixth MOS transistor and an inverter; a gate of the first MOS transistor and a gate of the fourth MOS transistor are each connected to a positive output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter, a gate of the second MOS transistor and a gate of the third MOS transistor are each connected to an inverting output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter, a source of the first MOS transistor, a source of the second MOS transistor, a source of the third MOS transistor and a source of the fourth MOS transistor are each grounded, a drain of the first MOS transistor and a drain of the fourth MOS transistor are each connected to a drain of the fifth MOS transistor, a gate of the fifth MOS transistor and a gate of the sixth MOS transistor are each connected to a drain of the fifth MOS transistor, a source of the fifth MOS transistor and a source of the sixth MOS transistor are each connected to a voltage source, a drain of the second MOS transistor, a drain of the third MOS transistor, and a drain of the sixth MOS transistor are each connected to an input terminal of the inverter, and an output terminal of the inverter is connected to the clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper.
The first MOS transistor, the second MOS transistor, and the third MOS transistor and the fourth MOS transistor each adopts a P-channel MOS transistor, and the fifth MOS transistor and the sixth MOS transistor each adopts an N-channel MOS transistor.
The positive output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter is separately connected to a positive input terminal of the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit and a positive input terminal of the second-stage chopper, the inverting output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter is separately connected to an inverting input terminal of the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit and an inverting input terminal of the second-stage chopper, and an output terminal of the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit is connected to the clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper.
Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
Compared with a band-pass filter, the present invention can limit the bandwidth of an amplifier only with a low pass filter, thereby reducing the noise of the readout circuit, and uses a simple automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit to overcome the shortcoming of the signal phase shift caused by the low pass filter.
Brief description of the drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a basic chopper modulation-based readout circuit;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit in the present invention.
Reference signs: Q1 : first MOS transistor; Q2: second MOS transistor, Q3: third MOS transistor; Q4: fourth MOS transistor; Q5: fifth MOS transistor; Q6: sixth MOS transistor; GND: ground; Vd«i: voltage source.
Detailed description of the embodiments
In order to more clearly explain the technical solutions of the present invention, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. A basic chopper modulation-based readout circuit structure known currently is as shown in Fig. 1. Some teams have improved on this basis by connecting a band-pass filter behind the AC amplifier to limit the bandwidth of the amplifier [2], which can further reduce the noise generated by the readout circuit. It is because if the bandwidth of an AC amplifier is infinite, then the offset noise generated by this chopping modulation method will be [3]:
(1) where, Vos is offset noise, Vspike is amplitude of a peak, τ is a time constant, and T is the period of the signal.
However, if a band-pass filter is connected after the AC amplifier and the stopband frequency is limited to about twice the chopping modulation frequency, the generated offset noise is:
(2)
Since t<T/2, the offset noise generated after limiting the bandwidth can be reduced. However, since a band-pass filter needs to be added after the AC amplifier, and the area of the band-pass filter may be relatively large, the present invention proposes to replace the band-pass filter with a low pass filter. Since a phase shift may be caused by the introduction of the low pass filter, modulated and demodulated clock
signals may also undergo corresponding phase shifts. Therefore, the present invention also adds a simple automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit to adapt to the demand.
As shown in Fig. 2, a terahertz image sensor readout circuit with a clock auto-calibration unit of the present invention comprises a first-stage chopper 1 and a second-stage chopper 4, an AC amplifier 2 being connected between the first-stage chopper 1 and the second-stage chopper 4, wherein a GmC low-pass filter 3 is connected between the AC amplifier 2 and the second-stage chopper 4, an output terminal of the second-stage chopper 4 is connected with a low pass filter 5, and an automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit 6 is connected between an output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter 3 and a clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper 4. The positive output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter is separately connected to a positive input terminal Vin+of the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit and a positive input terminal of the second-stage chopper, the inverting output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter is separately connected to an inverting input terminal Vm-of the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit and an inverting input terminal of the second-stage chopper, and an output terminal VoutOf the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit is connected to the clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper.
As shown in Fig. 3, the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit is composed of a first MOS transistor Q1, a second MOS transistor Q2, a third MOS transistor Q3, a fourth MOS transistor Q4, a fifth MOS transistor Q5, a sixth MOS transistor Q6 and an inverter. The first MOS transistor Q1, the second MOS transistor Q2, and the third MOS transistor Q3 and the fourth MOS transistor Q4 each adopts a P-channel MOS transistor, and the fifth MOS transistor Q5 and the sixth MOS transistor Q6 each adopts an N-channel MOS transistor. A gate of the first MOS transistor Q1 and A gate of the fourth MOS transistor Q4 are each connected to a positive output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter, a gate of the second MOS transistor Q2 and a gate of the third MOS transistor Q3 are each connected to an inverting output terminal of the GmC low-pass filter, a source of the first MOS transistor Q1, a source of the second MOS transistor Q2, a source of the third MOS transistor Q3 and a source of the fourth MOS transistor 04 are each grounded (GND), a drain of the first MOS transistor Q1 and a drain of the fourth MOS transistor Q4 are each connected to a drain of the fifth MOS transistor Q5, a gate of the fifth MOS transistor Q5 and a gate of the sixth MOS transistor Q6 are each connected to a drain of the fifth MOS transistor Q5, a source of the fifth MOS transistor Q5 and a source of the sixth MOS transistor Q6 are each connected to a voltage source Vdd, a drain of the second MOS transistor Q2, a drain of the third MOS transistor Q3, and a drain of the sixth MOS transistor Q6 are each connected to an input terminal of the inverter, and an output terminal Vout of the inverter is connected to the clock input terminal of the second-stage chopper.
After a signal passes through the GmC low-pass filter, a pair of sinusoidal differential signals is obtained. The pair of signals are input to the automatic clock phase shift adjustment circuit, and according to the difference of the pair of signals, a correspondingly varying voltage is generated at the input node of the inverter. When the voltage passes through the inverter, it outputs a square wave signal of amplitude VDD, which is an adjusted clock signal. Since the clock signal is varied according to the difference of the sinusoidal differential signal, the phase of the clock signal corresponds to the phase of the sinusoidal signal. No matter how much the phase of the sinusoidal differential signal is shifted compared to the signal input to the filter, the clock signal output from the inverter can be finally tracked. The adjusted clock signal is applied to the two-stage chopper for demodulating, and a corresponding signal can be well demodulated. Thus, a simpler low pass filter with a smaller area can be realized, and the low-noise amplification function of the detector signal can also be realized.
Although the functions and working processes of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the specific functions and working processes described above, and the specific embodiments given above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Many forms may be made by those skilled in the art under the inspiration of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and these are all within the protection of the present invention.
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CN111141702A (en) * | 2019-12-19 | 2020-05-12 | 天津大学 | High-frequency resolution arrayed terahertz imaging system based on detection comb principle |
CN111121626B (en) * | 2019-12-30 | 2021-09-07 | 广东博智林机器人有限公司 | Signal detection circuit, position sensitive detector and position detection system |
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CN103913240B (en) * | 2014-04-11 | 2017-01-11 | 电子科技大学 | Current type terahertz pyroelectricity detector reading circuit |
US20160209268A1 (en) * | 2015-01-20 | 2016-07-21 | Korea Advanced Institute Of Science And Technology | Terahertz receiver and terahertz imaging sensor apparatus for high data rate |
CN105300530B (en) * | 2015-11-10 | 2018-07-31 | 中国科学院半导体研究所 | Terahertz wave detector with reading circuit |
CN106813779A (en) * | 2016-12-25 | 2017-06-09 | 中国科学院紫金山天文台 | A kind of full-automatic Terahertz atmospheric characteristic measuring system and its calibration method |
CN107515202A (en) * | 2017-08-17 | 2017-12-26 | 清华大学 | Terahertz light spectral analysis method, system and equipment |
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