Image sensor comprising an array of pixels for reducing the shadowing effect, and corresponding designing method and computer program product

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11929377-B2
Application number	US-201816958459-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2018
Priority date	Dec 27, 2017
Publication date	Mar 12, 2024
Grant date	Mar 12, 2024

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an image sensor ( 21 ) comprising an array of pixels, wherein a set of pixels of the array comprises pixels with different height levels arranged according to their height level and relative position to an optical axis ( 22 ) of the image sensor, wherein each pixel of the set can take one height level i among N different height levels, N≥2, where i=1 is the smallest height level and i=N is the highest height level. According to the disclosure, for a pixel of the set having a first height level equal to n, 2≥n≥N, and an adjacent pixel of the set having a second height level equal to m, lower than the first height level, in at least one of horizontal, vertical, or diagonal scanning direction, from a point at which the optical axis ( 22 ) intersects the image sensor ( 21 ) to at least one rim of the image sensor, the second height level m is equal to n−1.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. An image sensor comprising an array of pixels,
wherein a set of pixels of the array comprises pixels with different height levels arranged according to their height level and relative position to an optical axis of the image sensor,
wherein each pixel of the set can take one height level i among N different height levels, N≥3, where i=1 is the smallest height level and i=N is the highest height level, and wherein, for a pixel of the set having a first height level equal to n,2≤n≤N, and an adjacent pixel of the set having a second height level equal to m, lower than the first height level, in at least one of horizontal, vertical, or diagonal scanning direction, from a point at which the optical axis intersects the image sensor to at least one rim of the image sensor, the second height level m is equal to n−1,
wherein the array comprises rows and columns of pixels, and wherein pixels having each of the different height levels i are present in each row and each column of the array;
wherein the pixels of the set comprise color filters, and wherein, for each pixel, the height level of the pixel depends on the color selectivity of the color filter;
wherein the height pattern comprises 50% of pixels with a green color filter, 25% of pixels with a blue color filter, and 25% of pixels with a red color filter, and wherein the pixels with different color filters are interleaved in the height pattern; and
wherein the height pattern comprises 8×8 pixels arranged as follows:

RGBGGBGR

BGRGGRGB

GBGRRGBG

GRGBBGRG

BGRGGRGB

RGBGGBGR

GRGBBGRG
or
GBGRRGBG

GRGBBGRG

GBGRRGBG

BGRGGRGB

RGBGGBGR

GBGRRGBG

GRGBBGRG

RGBGGBGR

BGRGGRGB

where R stands for a pixel with a red color filter, B stands for a pixel with a blue color filter and G stands for a pixel with a green color filter.

2. An image sensor comprising an array of pixels arranged in a repeating 8x8 pattern as follows, where R represents a pixel with a red color filter, G represents a pixel with a green color filter, and B represents a pixel with a blue color filter:

RGBGGBGR

BGRGGRGB

GBGRRGBG

GRGBBGRG

BGRGGRGB

RGBGGBGR

GRGBBGRG
or
GBGRRGBG

GRGBBGRG

GBGRRGBG

BGRGGRGB

RGBGGBGR

GBGRRGBG

GRGBBGRG

RGBGGBGR

BGRGGRGB

3. The image sensor of claim 2 , wherein each pixel with a red color filter has a first height, each pixel with a green color filter has a second height different from the first height, and each pixel with a blue color filter has a third height different from the first height and the second height.

4. The image sensor of claim 2 , wherein each pixel with a red color filter has a first height, each pixel with a green color filter has a second height greater than the first height, and each pixel with a blue color filter has a third height greater than the second height.

Assignees

• Interdigital Ce Patent Holdings
• Interdigital Ce Patent Holdings Sas

Inventors

• Damghanian Mitra
• Shramkova Oksana
• Drazic Valter

Classifications

• H10F39/8023

  Disposition of the elements in pixels, e.g. smaller elements in the centre of the imager compared to larger elements at the periphery · CPC title

• H10F39/806

  Optical elements or arrangements associated with the image sensors · CPC title

• H10F39/8027

  Geometry of the photosensitive area · CPC title

• H10F39/8053 Primary

  Colour filters · CPC title

• H10F39/18 Primary

  Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor [CMOS] image sensors; Photodiode array image sensors · CPC title