Imaging device, electronic apparatus, and information processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025113110-A1
Application number	US-202218294554-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 29, 2022
Priority date	Aug 17, 2021
Publication date	Apr 3, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A product-sum operation can be efficiently performed without increasing a pixel size.An imaging device includes: a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels that perform photoelectric conversion are arranged in directions in two dimensions; and an arithmetic operation unit configured to repeat a product-sum operation by selecting two or more of the pixels that have not been selected and are not adjacent to each other inside the pixel array unit.

First claim

1 . An imaging device comprising:
a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels that perform photoelectric conversion are arranged in directions in two dimensions; and an arithmetic operation unit configured to repeat a product-sum operation by selecting two or more of the pixels that have not been selected and are not adjacent to each other inside the pixel array unit.

2 . The imaging device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pixel array unit is divided into a plurality of macro pixels having two or more of the pixels adjacent to each other as its unit, and wherein the arithmetic operation unit repeats a process of performing a product-sum operation by selecting one pixel that has not been selected and is not adjacently disposed from each of two or more of the macro pixels.

3 . The imaging device according to claim 2 , wherein the arithmetic operation unit performs a convolution operation with a filter in units of pixel blocks including two or more of the macro pixels and repeats a process of performing a product-sum operation with corresponding filter coefficients inside the filter by sequentially selecting pixels that have not been selected and are not adjacently disposed from the macro pixels inside the pixel block.

4 . The imaging device according to claim 3 , wherein, when a size of the filter is N in a first direction and is M in a second direction intersecting with the first direction, a shift amount of the pixels in the first direction is K, and a shift amount of the pixels in the second direction is L (here, N, M, K, and L are integers equal to or greater than 1), the number of pixels inside the macro pixel is equal to or greater than (N/K)×(M/L).

5 . The imaging device according to claim 2 , further comprising color filters arranged in association with the pixels.

6 . The imaging device according to claim 5 , wherein each of the color filters has a plurality of color filter units that transmit light of which wavelength bands are different from each other.

7 . The imaging device according to claim 2 , further comprising color filters arranged in association with the pixels,
wherein the color filter has a color filter unit for each of the macro pixels, and wherein two of the color filter units corresponding to two of the macro pixels adjacent to each other have different wavelength bands of light which are transmitted.

8 . The imaging device according to claim 6 , wherein the color filter includes at least one of a color filter unit that transmits light of a visible light wavelength band, a color filter unit that transmits light of an infrared light wavelength band, and a color filter unit performs polarization control.

9 . The imaging device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the macro pixel includes: two or more photoelectric conversion units arranged in a direction in which signal lines that transmit pixel signals extend; two or more transfer transistors connected to the two or more photoelectric conversion units; and two or more reading circuits connected to the two or more transfer transistors, wherein the two or more reading circuits are connected to the signal line that is configured to be common, and wherein the two or more reading circuits each output the pixel signals to the signal lines at different timings.

10 . The imaging device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the macro pixel includes: two or more photoelectric conversion units arranged in a direction in which signal lines that transmit pixel signals extend; two or more transfer transistors connected to the two or more photoelectric conversion units; and two or more reading circuits connected to the two or more transfer transistors, wherein the two or more reading circuits are each connected to the separate signal lines, and wherein the two or more reading circuits output the pixel signals in parallel to the corresponding signal lines.

11 . The imaging device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the macro pixel includes: a plurality of photoelectric conversion units arranged in each of a first direction and a second direction intersecting with each other; and a plurality of signal lines extending in the second direction, and wherein the plurality of photoelectric conversion units arranged in different stages in the second direction output pixel signals in parallel to corresponding signal lines.

12 . The imaging device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the macro pixel includes: two or more photoelectric conversion units arranged in a direction in which signal lines that transmit pixel signals extend; two or more transfer transistors connected to the two or more photoelectric conversion units; and a reading circuit shared by the two or more photoelectric conversion units and the two or more transfer transistors.

13 . The imaging device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the macro pixel includes: a plurality of photoelectric conversion units arranged in each of a first direction and a second direction intersecting with each other; a plurality of signal lines extending in the second direction; and a plurality of reading circuits connected to the plurality of signal lines, and wherein each of the plurality of reading circuits is shared by the plurality of photoelectric conversion units arranged along the corresponding signal lines.

14 . The imaging device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the macro pixel includes: a plurality of photoelectric conversion units arranged in each of a first direction and a second direction intersecting with each other; a plurality of signal lines extending in the second direction; and one reading circuit connected to the plurality of signal lines and shared by all the pixels of the inside of the macro pixel.

15 . The imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein, inside the pixel, the pixel signal acquired through photoelectric conversion is weighted for a convolution operation and then is output.

16 . The imaging device according to claim 1 , further comprising an analog-to-digital converter that converts the pixel signal acquired through photoelectric conversion into a digital pixel signal,
wherein the arithmetic operation unit performs a product-sum operation for the digital pixel signal.

17 . The imaging device according to claim 1 , further comprising an analog-to-digital converter that converts a signal acquired by performing a product-sum operation for the pixel signal acquired through photoelectric conversion from analog to digital.

18 . The imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the pixel outputs a digital pixel signal acquired by performing analog-to-digital conversion of the pixel signal.

19 . The imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the pixel outputs the pixel signal corresponding to a luminance change.

20 . An electronic apparatus comprising:
an imaging device configured to output a pixel signal acquired through photoelectric conversion; and a signal processing unit configured to perform signal processing for the pixel signal, wherein the imaging device includes: a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels that perform photoelectric conversion are arranged in directions in two dimensions; and an arithmetic operation unit configured to repeat a process of performing a product-sum operation by selecting two or more of the pixels that have not been selected and are not adjacent to each other inside the pixel array unit.

21 . An information processing method in which a process of performing a product-

Assignees

• Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp

Inventors

• Hanzawa Katsuhiko
• Saito Daisuke

Classifications

• H04N25/44 Primary

  by partially reading an SSIS array · CPC title

• H04N25/47 Primary

  Image sensors with pixel address output; Event-driven image sensors; Selection of pixels to be read out based on image data · CPC title

• H04N25/46 Primary

  by combining or binning pixels · CPC title

• H04N25/778

  comprising amplifiers shared between a plurality of pixels, i.e. at least one part of the amplifier must be on the sensor array itself · CPC title

• H04N25/77

  Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components · CPC title