Lens barrel, lens-barrel wafer, and associated method
Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number:
10459189
A method for forming a lens barrel includes aligning each of a plurality of upper apertures of an upper wafer to (i) a respective one of a plurality of middle apertures of a middle wafer and (ii) a respective one of a plurality of lower apertures of a lower wafer. The middle wafer is between the upper wafer and the lower wafer. The method also includes bonding the middle wafer to the upper wafer to form a lens barrel wafer. Each triad of co-aligned upper, middle, and lower apertures…
Wafer-level methods for packing camera modules, and associated camera modules
Granted: October 22, 2019
Patent Number:
10455131
A wafer-level method for packaging a plurality of camera modules includes (a) overmolding a first housing material around a plurality of image sensors to produce a first wafer of packaged image sensors, (b) seating a plurality of lens units in the first wafer above the plurality of image sensors, respectively, and (d) overmolding a second housing material over the first wafer and around the lens units to form a second wafer of packaged camera modules, wherein each of the packaged camera…
Methods for high-throughput fluorescence imaging with sample heating capability
Granted: October 22, 2019
Patent Number:
10451551
A method for high-throughput assay processing includes (a) modulating temperature of a plurality of samples disposed in a respective plurality of fluidic channels on an image sensor wafer, including a plurality of image sensors, by heating the image sensor wafer using a heating module thermally coupled with the image sensor wafer, to control reaction dynamics in the samples, and (b) capturing a plurality of fluorescence images of the samples, using the plurality of image sensors, to…
Method of fabricating fill factor enhancement for image sensor
Granted: October 8, 2019
Patent Number:
10438979
An image sensor includes a plurality of photodiodes disposed in a semiconductor material and a plurality of isolation structures disposed between individual photodiodes in the plurality of photodiodes. The plurality of isolation structures electrically isolate individual photodiodes in the plurality of photodiodes. A plurality of transistors are disposed proximate to the plurality of photodiodes and include a reset transistor, an amplifier transistor, and a row select transistor. An…
Methods and systems for displaying high dynamic range images
Granted: October 8, 2019
Patent Number:
10437120
A display system comprises a first display for providing a first value and a second display for providing a second value. The displayed image is a product of multiplication of the first value provided by the first display and the second value provided by the second display. The first display is a transmissive display comprises: a first glass substrate, an unpatterned ITO layer, a LC layer, a patterned ITO layer having isolated electrodes, and a second glass substrate. The second display…
Wafer-level lens packaging methods, and associated lens assemblies and camera modules
Granted: October 8, 2019
Patent Number:
10437025
A method for packaging applies to packaging a plurality of wafer-level lenses. Each wafer-level lens includes (a) a substrate with opposite facing first and second surfaces and (b) a respective lens element on at least one of the first and second surfaces. Each lens element has a lens surface facing away from the substrate. The method includes partially encasing the plurality of wafer-level lenses with a housing material to produce a wafer of packaged wafer-level lenses. In the wafer of…
Dual conversion gain high dynamic range image sensor readout circuit memory storage structure
Granted: October 1, 2019
Patent Number:
10432879
A readout circuit includes a comparator coupled to receive a ramp signal an output of a dual conversion gain pixel. A single counter is coupled to the output of the comparator. The counter is coupled to write to only one of a first or a second memory circuits at a time. A first multiplexor is coupled to load either an initial value or an initial memory value from the first memory circuit into the counter. A second multiplexor is coupled to load either a low conversion gain memory value…
Dual conversion gain high dynamic range readout for comparator of double ramp analog to digital converter
Granted: October 1, 2019
Patent Number:
10431608
Example comparators as discussed herein may include a second stage coupled to provide an output in response to an intermediate voltage, a first stage coupled to provide the intermediate voltage in response to an input. The first stage including a pair of cascode devices coupled to a current mirror, a low gain input coupled to inputs of the first stage via first switches, and further selectively coupled to the pair of cascode devices via second switches, and a high gain input coupled to…
System and method for protecting a liquid crystal display by controlling ion migration
Granted: October 1, 2019
Patent Number:
10429699
A liquid crystal display includes a display area and a border area at least partially surrounding the display area, where the display area displays images for viewing and the border area displays display-protection images, which are used to control ion migration in the liquid crystal layer. In a more particular embodiment, the border area displays a series of checkerboard pattern(s), where the checkerboard patterns can alternate between initial and inverted values. The display-protection…
Exposure selector for high-dynamic range imaging and associated method
Granted: September 24, 2019
Patent Number:
10425599
A method for generating an HDR image includes (i) generating, from a plurality of single-exposure images of a scene, having a respective one of a plurality of exposure values, a sharpness map of sharpness values of the single-exposure images, and (ii) generating, from the plurality of single-exposure images, an exposure-value map of composite exposure values of the single-exposure images. The method also includes (iii) determining an optimal exposure value from the sharpness map and the…
Combined visible and infrared image sensor incorporating selective infrared optical filter
Granted: September 24, 2019
Patent Number:
10425597
An image sensor system, comprising a pixel array that includes at least a first type pixel and a second type pixel, wherein each first type pixel is configured to sense light of a first optical spectral range; and each second pixel is configured to sense light of a second optical spectral range; an optical filter located above the pixel array, said optical filter configured to pass a third optical spectral range and a fourth optical spectral range that is different from the third optical…
Curved image sensor using thermal plastic substrate material
Granted: September 17, 2019
Patent Number:
10418408
An image sensor includes a plurality of photodiodes arranged in an array and disposed in a semiconductor material to receive light through a first surface of the semiconductor material. At least part of the semiconductor material is curved. A carrier wafer is attached to a second surface, opposite the first surface, of the semiconductor material, and a polymer layer is attached to the carrier wafer, so that the carrier wafer is disposed between the polymer layer and the semiconductor…
Single-exposure high dynamic range sensor
Granted: September 10, 2019
Patent Number:
10411063
A single-exposure high dynamic range (HDR) image sensor includes a first photodiode and a second photodiode, with a smaller full-well capacity than the first photodiode, disposed in a semiconductor material. The image sensor also includes a first floating diffusion disposed in the semiconductor material and a first transfer gate coupled to the first photodiode to transfer first image charge accumulated in the first photodiode into the first floating diffusion. A second floating diffusion…
Lensed beam-splitter prism array and associated method
Granted: September 10, 2019
Patent Number:
10409078
A lensed beam-splitter prism array includes a beam-splitter substrate with a plurality of planar and parallel thin-film coatings each spanning a top substrate surface and a bottom substrate surface, and making an oblique angle therebetween, and a lens form layer formed on the top surface and having a plurality of lens forms, each lens form being above one of the plurality of coatings. A method for fabricating a lensed beam-splitter prism includes bonding a plurality of substrates to form…
Six-aspheric-surface lens
Granted: August 27, 2019
Patent Number:
10393999
A six-aspheric-surface lens has six coaxially aligned lenses including, in order, a positive first lens, a negative second lens, a negative third lens, a negative fourth lens, a negative fifth lens, and a plano-gull-wing sixth lens. The six-aspheric-surface lens also includes a first biplanar substrate between the first lens and the second lens, a second biplanar substrate between the third lens and the fourth lens, and a third biplanar substrate between the fifth lens and the sixth…
Two stage amplifier readout circuit in pixel level hybrid bond image sensors
Granted: August 6, 2019
Patent Number:
10375338
A hybrid bonded image sensor has a photodiode die with macrocells having at least one photodiode and a bond contact; a supporting circuitry die with multiple supercells, each supercell having at least one macrocell unit having a bond contact coupled to the bond contact of a macrocell of the photodiode die. Each macrocell unit lies within a supercell and has a reset transistor adapted to reset photodiodes of the macrocell of the photodiode die. Each supercell has at least one common…
Multiport memory architecture for simultaneous transfer
Granted: July 23, 2019
Patent Number:
10360952
Multiport memory architecture is disclosed herein. An example memory includes an input port, a memory array, and an output port. The input port is coupled to receive data blocks and includes first and second buffers coupled to temporarily store alternate data blocks, and the output port is coupled to provide data blocks from the memory array. The memory array is partitioned into first and second partitions, with the first partition coupled to receive data blocks from the first buffer and…
Alignment of multiple camera images by matching projected one dimensional image profiles
Granted: July 23, 2019
Patent Number:
10360662
A multiple camera imaging system, comprising a first camera image sensor configured to obtain a first image of a scene from a first vantage perspective point; a second camera image sensor configured to obtain a second image of the scene from a second vantage perspective point; and an image signal processor (ISP), configured to process the first image and the second image by performing the following steps: producing a first monotone image from the first image, and a second monotone image…
Spacer wafer for wafer-level camera and method for manufacturing same
Granted: July 23, 2019
Patent Number:
10359609
A spacer wafer for a wafer-level camera, a wafer-level camera including the spacer wafer and a method of manufacturing a spacer wafer include a layer of photoresist being formed over a substrate, the layer of photoresist being exposed to radiation through a mask that defines a spacer geometry for at least one wafer-level camera element. The layer photoresist is developed, such that the layer of photoresist is the spacer wafer for the wafer-level camera.
Image sensor with dual conversion gain readout
Granted: July 16, 2019
Patent Number:
10356351
A method includes reading a first analog reference signal from a first storage node in a dual conversion gain pixel, and converting the first analog reference signal to a first digital reference signal using a comparator coupled to the dual conversion gain pixel. The method also includes reading a first analog image signal from the first storage node, and converting the first analog image signal to a first digital image signal using the comparator. A second analog image signal may be…
