Color imaging element and imaging device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9185375-B2
Application number	US-201514589045-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2015
Priority date	Jul 6, 2012
Publication date	Nov 10, 2015
Grant date	Nov 10, 2015

Abstract

The color imaging element and the imaging device according to the present invention can improve reproduction precision of demosaicing processing in a high frequency region and suppress aliasing. Further, the color imaging element can achieve high resolution by reducing occurrence of color moire (false color). Furthermore, the color imaging element and the imaging device can perform pixel demosaicing processing with high precision. Still furthermore, a basic array pattern including a square pattern and a grating filter line is repeated in a first direction and a second direction, and thus a color filter array can perform signal processing in a subsequent stage according to a repeating pattern of the square pattern and the grating filter line, and can simplify the processing in a subsequent stage more than a conventional random array.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A color imaging element as a single-plate color imaging element comprising:
a plurality of pixels composed of photoelectric conversion elements disposed in a first direction and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and
color filters disposed on the plurality of pixels, wherein
an array of the color filters includes a basic array pattern having the color filters arranged in an array pattern corresponding to M×N (each value of M and N is 8 or more) pixels in the first direction and in the second direction, and the basic array pattern is repeatedly placed in the first direction and in the second direction,
the basic array pattern includes a first filter corresponding to a first color having one or more colors and a second filter corresponding to a second color having two or more colors, in which a contribution ratio of the second color for acquiring a brightness signal is lower than the contribution ratio of the first color,
the basic array pattern includes four or more square patterns corresponding to 3×3 pixels, each square pattern including one of the second filter in the center and eight of the first filters surrounding eight directions of the second filter,
the array of the color filters includes therein a grating filter line in the first direction and a grating filter line in the second direction, in which the first filter and the second filter are placed side by side surrounding the four directions of the square pattern, and
the array of the color filters includes therein the first filter disposed in each filter line in the first direction and in the second direction of the array of the color filters and in each filter line in a third direction and in a fourth direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction,
wherein in the basic array pattern, one or more second filters corresponding to each color of the second colors are placed in each filter line in the first direction and in the second direction in the basic array pattern.

2. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein the each value of M and N is 10, the grating filter line in the first direction and in the second direction is 2 pixels wide, and the second filter is disposed every second or third pixel in each of the first direction and the second direction.

3. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein the each value of M and N is 8, the grating filter line in the first direction and in the second direction is 1 pixel wide, and the first filter is disposed every second pixel in each of the first direction and the second direction.

4. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein in the basic array pattern, the grating filter line in the first direction and the grating filter line in the second direction have the same abundance ratio of a filter of each color of the second color.

5. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein at least one filter of the first color is placed adjacent to each side of the four sides of the square pattern, and a filter of each color of the second colors is disposed one by one adjacent to each side of the four sides of the square pattern.

6. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein in the array of the color filters, the color of the second filter placed at a center of each square pattern is different from each other among the square patterns closest to each other in each of the first direction and the second direction.

7. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein in the array of the color filters, a pixel of each color of the second filter placed at the center of the square pattern has the same abundance ratio.

8. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein if the color filter is square, the third direction and the fourth direction are inclined by 45° with respect to the first direction and the second direction respectively.

9. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein the first color includes at least any of green and transparent.

10. The color imaging element according to claim 1 , wherein the second color includes red and blue.

11. A color imaging element as a single-plate color imaging element comprising:
a plurality of pixels composed of photoelectric conversion elements disposed in a first direction and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and
color filters disposed on the plurality of pixels, wherein
an array of the color filters includes a basic array pattern having the color filters arranged in an array pattern corresponding to M×N (each value of M and N is 8 or more) pixels in the first direction and in the second direction, and the basic array pattern is repeatedly placed in the first direction and in the second direction,
the basic array pattern includes a first filter corresponding to a first color having one or more colors, in which a peak transmittance of the first filter is in a range of 480 nm or more and 570 nm or less, and a second filter corresponding to a second color having two or more colors, in which the peak transmittance of the second filter is outside the range,
the basic array pattern includes a plurality of square patterns of 3×3 pixels, each square pattern including one of the second filter in the center and eight of the first filters surrounding eight directions of the second filter,
the basic array pattern includes four or more square patterns corresponding to 3×3 pixels, each square pattern including one of the second filter in the center and eight of the first filters surrounding eight directions of the second filter,
the array of the color filters includes therein a grating filter line in the first direction and a grating filter line in the second direction, in which the first filter and the second filter are placed side by side surrounding the four directions of the square pattern, and
the array of the color filters includes therein the first filter disposed in each filter line in the first direction and in the second direction of the array of the color filters and in each filter line in a third direction and in a fourth direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction,
wherein in the basic array pattern, one or more second filters corresponding to each color of the second colors are placed in each filter line in the first direction and in the second direction in the basic array pattern.

12. The color imaging element according to claim 11 , wherein the each value of M and N is 10, the grating filter line in the first direction and in the second direction is 2 pixels wide, and the second filter is disposed every second or third pixel in each of the first direction and the second direction.

13. The color imaging element according to claim 11 , wherein the each value of M and N is 8, the grating filter line in the first direction and in the second direction is 1 pixel wide, and the first filter is disposed every second pixel in each of the first direction and the second direction.

14. A color imaging element as a single-plate color imaging element comprising:
a plurality of pixels composed of photoelectric conversion elements disposed in a first direction and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and
color filters disposed on the plurality of pixels, wherein
an array of the color filters includes a basic array pattern having the color filters arranged in an array pattern corresponding to M×N (each value of M and N is 8 or more) pixels in the first direction and in the second direction, and the basic array pattern is repeatedly placed in the first dire

Assignees

• Fujifilm Corp

Inventors

• Tanaka Seiji
• Hayashi Kenkichi
• Kawamura Noriko

Classifications

• H04N23/84 Primary

  for processing colour signals · CPC title

• H04N25/134

  based on three different wavelength filter elements · CPC title

• H04N9/30

  using solid-state colour display devices · CPC title

• H04N9/045

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N9/646 Primary

  for image enhancement, e.g. vertical detail restoration, cross-colour elimination, contour correction, chrominance trapping filters · CPC title