Optical Sensor Device And Method For Operating Time-of-flight Sensor

Abstract

The present invention discloses an optical sensor device and a method for operating a time-of-flight sensor. The optical sensor device, which may be a time-of-flight sensor, comprises a pixel array having a plurality of pixels. Moreover, the optical sensor device comprises a read-out node configured to provide photo-generated charge carriers from a first pixel and a second pixel for read-out and a first transfer gate configured to enable a read-out of the first pixel by using the read-out node and a second transfer gate to disable a read-out of the second pixel during read-out of the first pixel.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of integrated circuits, and more particularly to the field of optical sensors employing photogate structures for redirection of photogenerated charge carriers and placement of photogate structures. Another embodiment shows a transmission gate light mixing device. Background technique [0002] Optical sensors for depth imaging and in particular time-of-flight optical sensors suffer from a relatively high (i.e. poor) signal-to-noise ratio for electrical signals representing time-of-flight, which is the time-of-flight from an electromagnetic signal such as, for example, light The time it takes for an active illumination source to travel to the object and then travel back or further forward to the light sensor. The signal can be formed by the amplitude modulation of the illumination source and the image relationship in the optical sensor. Depending on the phase relationship to the illumination source,...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Since this charge is small, it is difficult to obtain large signal voltages from electronic readout circuits relative to noise sources

[0003] Thus, current designs of time-of-flight sensors expose intrinsic limitations in signal quality, and thus in the accuracy of time-of-flight measurements

Images