Image sensor, exposure method and device and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses an image sensor, an exposure method and device and electronic equipment, and belongs to the technical field of camera shooting. The image sensor comprises M photosensitive units, M pixel circuits and at least two voltage regulation modules, wherein M is a positive integer; each voltage regulation module is connected with at least one pixel circuit in the M pixel circuits, and each pixel circuit is connected with one photosensitive unit; wherein the voltage adjusting module is used for adjusting the working voltage of the connected pixel circuit, and each pixel circuit is used for adjusting the photosensitive gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the working voltage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of imaging technology, and specifically relates to an image sensor, an exposure method, a device and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] With the development of photographing technology, users have higher and higher requirements on the photographing quality of image sensors. For example, users require that images photographed by image sensors have a high signal-to-noise ratio or a high dynamic range.

[0003] In the related art, the photosensitivity of an image sensor can be improved by increasing the pixel area or increasing the aperture, thereby improving the image dynamic range of an image captured by the image sensor.

[0004] However, according to the above method, after the dynamic range of the image captured by the image sensor is improved, the dark area of ​​the image, such as the image area with brightness less than a threshold, is blurred, resulting in a low signal-to-noise ratio of the image. Therefore, how to balance the image dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide an image sensor, an exposure method, an apparatus and an electronic device, which can improve the image dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image sensor, which includes: M photosensitive units, M pixel circuits and at least two voltage regulation modules, where M is a positive integer; each voltage regulation module is connected to at least one pixel circuit among the M pixel circuits, and each pixel circuit is connected to a photosensitive unit; wherein the voltage regulation module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit, and each pixel circuit is used to adjust the photosensitivity gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a camera module, which includes the image sensor described in the first aspect.

[0008] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an image processing device, which includes a camera module as described in the first aspect.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an exposure method, which is executed by the image processing device described in the third aspect, and the exposure method includes: determining N ambient brightness ranges according to the brightness distribution information of the preview image collected by the image sensor, each ambient brightness range corresponds to at least one photosensitive unit in the image sensor, and N is a positive integer; in the process of controlling the exposure of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor, according to the N ambient brightness ranges, adjusting the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor through the voltage adjustment module in the image sensor; wherein each pixel circuit in the image sensor is connected to a voltage adjustment module and a photosensitive unit, each voltage adjustment module is connected to at least one pixel circuit, and each voltage adjustment module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit according to the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit; and determining the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit connected to each pixel circuit according to the operating voltage of each pixel circuit in the image sensor.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the fourth aspect are implemented.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored, and when the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the fourth aspect are implemented.

[0012] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the method described in the fourth aspect.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the method described in the fourth aspect.

[0014] In the embodiment of the present application, since the image sensor includes at least two voltage regulation modules, and each voltage regulation module can independently adjust the operating voltage of at least one pixel circuit connected thereto, so that each pixel circuit adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be differentially adjusted to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area and increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0016] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0017] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0021] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0022] Fig. 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0023] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0024] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0025] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0026] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a camera module provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0027] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0028] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a camera module provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0029] Fig.13 is a schematic flow chart of an exposure method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0030] Fig.14A is an example image of a grayscale image used in the exposure method provided in some embodiments of the present application;

[0031] Fig. 14B is an example image after the grayscale image used in the exposure method provided in some embodiments of the present application is processed by connected domain and region segmentation;

[0032] Fig.15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided by some embodiments of the present application;

[0033] Fig.16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided by some embodiments of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments in the present application belong to the scope of protection of this application.

[0035] The nouns and terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below.

[0036] Image sensor: It is the photosensitive element of the camera module, the core of the camera module, and the most critical component in the camera module. Today, image sensors are mainly divided into two types: Charge-coupled Device (CCD) sensors and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensors. Among them, CMOS active pixel sensors are hereinafter referred to as CMOS sensors.

[0037] Compared with traditional cameras, traditional camera modules use "film" as the carrier of information recording, while the "film" of digital cameras is its imaging photosensitive element, that is, image sensor. The photosensitive element is the "film" of digital cameras that does not need to be replaced and is integrated with the camera. Among them, camera and camera module have the same meaning and can be interchangeable.

[0038] At present, the mainstream image sensor is CMOS sensor, which, like CCD sensor, is a semiconductor that can record light changes in digital cameras. The general working process of CMOS sensor is to sense light signals through a large number of photodiodes (PD), also known as pixels, and convert the sensed light signals into electrical signals.

[0039] Then, it passes through the amplification circuit and analog-to-digital (AD) conversion circuit to form a digital signal matrix (i.e., image), which is then processed by the image signal processor (ISP) and compressed and stored.

[0040] Camera lens (lens): It can also be referred to as lens for short. It is the most important part of a camera, because its quality directly affects the quality of the image taken. Lenses can be divided into two categories: zoom and fixed focus. Zoom lenses are lenses with variable focal length and variable viewing angle, that is, lenses that can be pushed and pulled; fixed focus lenses are lenses with fixed focal length and fixed focal length, or lenses with only one focal length or viewing angle.

[0041] CMOS camera module: It is the mainstream camera module used in current terminals, such as mobile phones. CMOS camera module is mainly composed of lens, voice coil motor (VCM), infrared filter (IRF), CMOS sensor, digital signal processor (DSP) and flexible printed circuit (FPC). Of course, DSP can also be replaced by image signal processor (ISP).

[0042] The general working process of the CCM camera module is as follows: the voice coil motor drives the lens to reach the accurate focusing position, the external light passes through the lens, is filtered by the infrared filter, and shines on the PD of the image sensor. The PD converts the sensed light signal into an electrical signal, which is then passed through the amplification circuit and AD conversion circuit to form a digital signal matrix (i.e., image), which is then processed by the digital signal processor DSP and compressed and stored.

[0043] Image sensor sensitivity: Sensitivity usually refers to the sensitivity of the image sensor to light, that is, the ability of the sensor to capture light and convert it into electrical signals. This involves factors such as the photoelectric effect of the sensor, the size of the light sensing area, and the efficiency of photoelectric conversion. A sensor with high sensitivity can maintain good image quality under lower light conditions, while a sensor with low sensitivity requires more light to achieve the same imaging effect.

[0044] Photosensitive charge: refers to the number of electron-hole pairs generated after the photodiode absorbs photons under light conditions.

[0045] Photosensitive voltage: refers to the potential difference between the positive and negative electrodes of the photodiode when the photodiode is sensitive to light.

[0046] Overflow charge of parasitic capacitor: when the amount of charge received by the photosensitive unit is greater than the capacity of the parasitic capacitor corresponding to the photosensitive unit, the charge overflows from the parasitic capacitor. For example, the charge exceeding the capacitance of the parasitic capacitor can overflow from the negative electrode of the parasitic capacitor.

[0047] Photoelectric gain: The photoelectric gain of a photodiode can be defined as the ratio between the output current and the input light power. The photoelectric gain reflects the ability of the photodiode to convert light signals into electrical signals, that is, the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The size of the photoelectric gain directly affects the performance of the photodiode under low light conditions because it determines the current that can be generated under a given light intensity.

[0048] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0049] The image sensor, exposure method, device and electronic device provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments and their application scenarios in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0050] The image sensor, exposure method, device, and electronic device provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to scenes of shooting images or videos.

[0051] Illustratively, the exposure method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to shooting scenes with overexposure, underexposure, or large brightness contrast.

[0052] The image sensor provided in the embodiments of the present application is exemplarily described below in conjunction with the various drawings.

[0053] The present application embodiment provides an image sensor, Figure 1 FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an image sensor provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the image sensor 100 may include: M photosensitive units 11, M pixel circuits 12 and at least two voltage regulation modules 13, where M may be a positive integer; each voltage regulation module 13 is connected to at least one pixel circuit 12 among the M pixel circuits 12, and each pixel circuit 12 is connected to one photosensitive unit 11 among the M photosensitive units 11.

[0054] Each voltage regulating module 13 is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit 12; each pixel circuit 12 is used to adjust the photosensitivity gain of the corresponding photosensitive unit 11 according to the operating voltage.

[0055] Example 1, taking each voltage regulating module connected to a pixel circuit as an example, Figure 2A As shown, the image sensor includes a voltage control module 13-1, a voltage control module 13-2, a pixel circuit 12-1, a pixel circuit 12-2, a photosensitive unit 11-1 and a photosensitive unit 11-2. The pixel circuit 12-1 is connected to the voltage regulating module 13-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-1 respectively, and the pixel circuit 12-2 is connected to the voltage regulating module 13-2 and the photosensitive unit 11-2 respectively; the voltage regulating module 13-1 is used to adjust the working voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1, and the pixel circuit 12-1 adjusts the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the working voltage; the voltage regulating module 13-2 is used to adjust the working voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2, and the pixel circuit 12-2 adjusts the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the working voltage.

[0056] For example, in an underexposure scenario, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 can increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the adjusted operating voltage; the voltage regulating module 13-2 can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2, so that the pixel circuit 12-2 can increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the adjusted operating voltage. In this way, in an underexposure scenario, since different voltage regulating modules can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuits connected to them, the operating voltage of the pixel circuits in the image sensor can be increased differentially, and thus the exposure gain of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor can be increased differentially, thereby not only avoiding underexposure of the image captured by the image sensor in the underexposure scenario, but also improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the captured image.

[0057] For another example, in an overexposure scenario, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 can reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the adjusted operating voltage; the voltage regulating module 13-2 can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2, so that the pixel circuit 12-2 can reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the adjusted operating voltage. In this way, in an overexposure scenario, since different voltage regulating modules can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuits connected to them, the operating voltage of the pixel circuits in the image sensor can be reduced in a differentiated manner, and thus the exposure gain of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor can be reduced in a differentiated manner, thereby not only avoiding overexposure of the image captured by the image sensor in the overexposure scenario, but also improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the captured image.

[0058] For another example, in a shooting scene with a large brightness contrast, if the photosensitive unit 11-1 is underexposed, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the adjusted operating voltage, thereby avoiding underexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-1, even if the photosensitive unit 11-1 is normally exposed. If the photosensitive unit 11-2 is overexposed, the voltage regulating module 13-2 can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2, so that the pixel circuit 12-2 can reduce the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the adjusted operating voltage to avoid overexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-2. In this way, in a scene with a large brightness contrast, since the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be differentially adjusted according to the voltage regulating module in the image sensor, the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area can be reduced, and the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area can be increased, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image collected in the shooting scene with a large brightness contrast.

[0059] It should be noted that the voltage adjustment amplitudes of the voltage adjustment module 13 - 1 and the voltage adjustment module 13 - 2 are determined according to the ambient brightness range corresponding to the corresponding photosensitive units. For details, please refer to the relevant description in the following exposure method embodiment.

[0060] Example 2, taking each voltage regulating module connected to two pixel circuits as an example, Figure 2BAs shown, the image sensor 100 includes 4 photosensitive units, 4 pixel circuits and 2 voltage regulating modules. The 4 photosensitive units are photosensitive units 11-1 to 11-4, the 4 pixel circuits are pixel circuits 12-1 to 12-4, and the 2 voltage regulating modules are voltage regulating module 13-1 and voltage regulating module 13-2. The voltage regulating module 13-1 is connected to the pixel circuit 12-1 and the pixel circuit 12-2 respectively, and the pixel circuit 12-1 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11-1, and the pixel circuit 12-2 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11-2; the pixel voltage regulating module 13-2 is connected to the pixel circuit 12-3 and the pixel circuit 12-4 respectively, and the pixel circuit 12-3 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11-3, and the pixel circuit 12-4 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11-4. Among them, the voltage regulating module 13-1 is used to adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1 and the pixel circuit 12-2. The pixel circuit 12-1 adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-2 adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the operating voltage; the voltage regulating module 13-2 is used to adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-3 and the pixel circuit 12-4. The pixel circuit 12-3 adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-3 according to the operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-4 adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-4 according to the operating voltage.

[0061] For example, in an underexposure scenario, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can increase the operating voltages of the pixel circuits 12-1 and 12-2, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the adjusted operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-2 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the adjusted operating voltage; the voltage regulating module 13-2 can increase the operating voltages of the pixel circuits 12-3 and 12-4, so that the pixel circuit 12-3 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-3 according to the adjusted operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-4 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-4 according to the adjusted operating voltage. In this way, in an underexposure scenario, since different voltage regulating modules can increase the operating voltages of the pixel circuits connected to them, that is, the operating voltages of the pixel circuits in the image sensor can be increased differentially, and thus the exposure gain of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor can be increased differentially, thereby not only avoiding underexposure of the image captured by the image sensor in the underexposure scenario, but also improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the captured image.

[0062] For another example, in an overexposure scenario, the voltage regulation module 13-1 can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuits 12-1 and 12-2, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 can reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the adjusted operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-2 can reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the adjusted operating voltage; the voltage regulation module 13-2 can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuits 12-3 and 12-4, so that the pixel circuit 12-3 can reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-3 according to the adjusted operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-4 can reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-4 according to the adjusted operating voltage to avoid underexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-1 to the photosensitive unit 11-4. In this way, in an overexposure scenario, since different voltage regulation modules can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuits to which they are connected, the operating voltage of the pixel circuits in the image sensor can be reduced in a differentiated manner, thereby differentially reducing the exposure gain of the photosensitive units in the image sensor, thereby not only avoiding overexposure of the image captured by the image sensor in the overexposure scenario, but also improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the captured image.

[0063] For another example, in a shooting scene with a large brightness contrast, if the photosensitive unit 11-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-2 are underexposed, and the photosensitive unit 11-3 and the photosensitive unit 11-4 are overexposed, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuits 12-1 and 12-2, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the adjusted operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-2 can increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the adjusted operating voltage to avoid underexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-2. Similarly, the voltage regulating module 13-2 can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuits 12-3 and 12-4, so that the pixel circuit 12-3 can reduce the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-3 according to the adjusted operating voltage, and the pixel circuit 12-4 can reduce the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-4 according to the adjusted operating voltage to avoid overexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-4 and the photosensitive unit 11-4. In this way, in scenes with large brightness contrast, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be differentially adjusted according to the voltage regulation module in the image sensor to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive units in the bright area and increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive units in the dark area, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image captured in the shooting scenes with large brightness contrast.

[0064] It should be noted that the voltage adjustment amplitudes of the voltage adjustment module 13 - 1 and the voltage adjustment module 13 - 2 are determined according to the ambient brightness range corresponding to the corresponding photosensitive units. For details, please refer to the relevant description in the following exposure method embodiment.

[0065] It should be noted that as the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit increases, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photosensitive unit will also be improved to a certain extent.

[0066] Specifically, when the ambient light remains unchanged, the greater the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit, the higher the conversion efficiency of the photosensitive unit in converting light information into electrical information.

[0067] For example, assuming that under normal illumination, the pixel circuit is powered by the first power supply, one photon received by the photosensitive unit can be converted into one photosensitive charge, and one charge is outputted from the output terminal Vout of the pixel circuit;

[0068] In the case of overexposure, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photosensitive unit can be reduced by reducing the operating voltage of the pixel circuit, such as making the photosensitive unit convert multiple received photons into one photosensitive charge, thereby avoiding charge overflow of the parasitic capacitor in the pixel circuit;

[0069] In the case of underexposure, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photosensitive unit can be increased by increasing the operating voltage of the pixel circuit, such as allowing the photosensitive unit to convert one received photon into multiple photosensitive charges to avoid underexposure.

[0070] It can be understood that in some embodiments of the present application, the difference between the operating voltages of pixel circuits connected to the same voltage regulation module is less than or equal to a preset voltage value, for example, the difference is 0V.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present application, the at least two voltage regulating modules are connected to the first power source, and the first power line is connected to the first power source for powering the image sensor. Figure 2A and Figure 2B As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 - 1 and the voltage regulating module 13 - 2 are both connected to the first power source 14 via the power line 01 .

[0072] In some embodiments of the present application, for each of the M photosensitive units, a photosensitive unit may include: at least one PD. For example, each photosensitive unit may include 1 PD, 4 PD four-in-one pixels, 9 PDs, 16 PDs, etc., which may be determined according to actual usage requirements.

[0073] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1 ,like Figure 3As shown, each voltage regulating module 13 may include a variable resistor 131; a first end of the variable resistor 131 is connected to the first power source 14, and a second end of the variable resistor 131 is connected to at least one pixel circuit 12. The variable resistor 131 may be used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit 12 according to the resistance value; the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12 connected to the variable resistor 131 is negatively correlated with the resistance value of the variable resistor 131.

[0074] In some embodiments of the present application, each variable resistor is connected in series with at least one pixel circuit, so the variable resistor can be called a voltage-dividing resistor. It can be understood that the larger the resistance of the variable resistor, the larger the voltage on the variable resistor, so that the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the variable resistor is smaller.

[0075] In this way, by setting at least two variable resistors in the image sensor, it is possible to adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each variable resistor by adjusting the resistance of the at least two variable resistors, so that the operating voltage of each pixel circuit can be matched with the light source environment corresponding to the connected photosensitive unit, thereby ensuring that the image sensor has a higher dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio.

[0076] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 3 ,like Figure 4 As shown, each of the at least two voltage regulating modules 13 may further include: an operational amplifier 132 .

[0077] A first end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to the first power supply 14 , a second end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11 corresponding to at least one pixel circuit 12 among the M pixel circuits 12 , and a third end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to the first end of the variable resistor 131 .

[0078] The operational amplifier 132 can be used to adjust the amplification factor of the operational amplifier 132 according to the photosensitive voltage of the connected photosensitive unit 11 .

[0079] It should be noted that the amplification factor of the operational amplifier is used to amplify or reduce the voltage output from the first power supply to the operational amplifier.

[0080] In some embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned magnification factor may be greater than 1, equal to 1, or less than 1.

[0081] In some embodiments of the present application, the operational amplifier calculates whether the photosensitive unit is in a fully charged or under-charged state through the photosensitive voltage generated by the photons absorbed by the photosensitive unit, and adjusts the operating voltage of the corresponding pixel circuit in real time to adjust the exposure gain of the photosensitive unit.

[0082] Specifically, when the photosensitive unit is in an undercharged state, the operational amplifier can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit by increasing the amplification factor to increase the exposure gain of the photosensitive unit. Alternatively, when the photosensitive unit is in a fully charged state, the operational amplifier can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit by reducing the amplification factor to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit and avoid charge overflow. Alternatively, when the photosensitive unit is in a normal charge state, the operational amplifier can keep the amplification factor unchanged and keep the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit unchanged to maintain the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit and avoid gain fluctuations.

[0083] In some embodiments of the present application, the operational amplifier can calculate a first ratio of a photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit to an output voltage of the first power supply, and determine whether the photosensitive unit is in a fully charged or under-charged state based on the comparison result.

[0084] Specifically, if the first ratio is greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than the second threshold, the operational amplifier can determine that the photosensitive unit is in a normal charge state. If the first ratio is less than the first threshold, the operational amplifier can determine that the photosensitive unit is in an under-charge state; if the first ratio is greater than or equal to the second threshold, the operational amplifier can determine that the photosensitive unit is in a full-charge state. In some embodiments of the present application, the greater the difference between the output voltage of the first power supply and the photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit, the greater the adjustment range of the amplification factor of the operational amplifier.

[0085] The above judgment method is only for illustration, and in actual implementation, any possible judgment method may be used. For example, the charge state of the photosensitive unit is judged by the difference between the output voltage of the first power supply and the photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit, wherein the charge state includes: normal charge state, undercharge state, and full charge state.

[0086] In this way, since the operational amplifier can adjust the operational amplifier amplification factor according to the photosensitivity voltage of the connected photosensitive unit, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be matched with the light source environment corresponding to the photosensitive unit, thereby ensuring that the image sensor has a higher dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio.

[0087] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 4 ,like Figure 5 As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 may further include: a voltage stabilizing capacitor 133. A first end of the voltage stabilizing capacitor 133 is connected to a second end of the variable resistor 131, and a second end of the voltage stabilizing capacitor 133 is connected to at least one pixel circuit 12 among the M pixel circuits 12. The voltage stabilizing capacitor 133 may be used to reduce the rate of change of the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit 12.

[0088] In this way, since each voltage regulating module is provided with a voltage stabilizing capacitor, sudden changes in the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the voltage regulating module can be avoided, and the rate of change of the operating voltage can be reduced, thereby reducing the brightness change amplitude of the image continuously captured by the image sensor.

[0089] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 1 ,like Figure 6 As shown, each of the M pixel circuits 12 may include an integration unit 121 and a parasitic capacitor 122; a first end of the integration unit 121 is connected to a voltage regulation module 13, a second end of the integration unit 121 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 122, and the first end of the parasitic capacitor 122 is also connected to a photosensitive unit 11, and a second end of the parasitic capacitor 122 is grounded.

[0090] The integration unit 121 may be used to determine a gain coefficient of the photosensitive unit 11 corresponding to the integration unit 121 according to the working voltage and the photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit 11 corresponding to the integration unit 121;

[0091] According to the gain coefficient, the photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit 11 corresponding to the integration unit is subjected to gain processing, and the integrated photosensitive gain is transmitted to the parasitic capacitor 122 .

[0092] It can be understood that the parasitic capacitor can store the photosensitivity gain obtained by processing the integration unit.

[0093] It can be understood that, for each integration unit, an integration unit can determine a gain coefficient according to the output voltage of the connected voltage regulation module and the photosensitive charge of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the integration unit.

[0094] It should be noted that, for each photosensitive unit, the gain coefficient corresponding to a photosensitive unit is used to indicate: the growth ratio between the photosensitive charge of the photosensitive unit and the charge output by the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit.

[0095] In some embodiments of the present application, the integration unit may use the ratio of the photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit to the operating voltage of the pixel circuit as the gain coefficient of the photosensitive unit.

[0096] For example, assuming that the photosensitive voltage of a photosensitive unit is Va and the operating voltage of the pixel circuit is Vb, the integration unit can determine the gain coefficient of the photosensitive unit as: Therefore, the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit is

[0097] For example, assuming Va = 2.8, Vb = 3.2, the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit is

[0098] For another example, assuming Va = 4.1, Vb = 3.8, the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit is

[0099] It will be understood that the unit of voltage in this application is volt (V).

[0100] In this way, since the integration unit can determine the gain coefficient of the photosensitive unit based on the photosensitive voltage of the photosensitive unit and the operating voltage of the pixel circuit, and perform gain processing on the photosensitive voltage based on the gain coefficient, when the operating voltage of the pixel circuit changes, the gain coefficient of the photosensitive unit changes accordingly, thereby improving the accuracy of adjusting the gain coefficient corresponding to the photosensitive unit.

[0101] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 6 ,like Fig. 7A As shown, each pixel circuit 12 may further include a photon mapping unit 123, a first end of the photon mapping unit 123 is connected to a second end of the integration unit 121, a second end of the photon mapping unit 123 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 122, and the photon mapping unit 123 may be used to record the gain charge amount of the gain charge transmitted from the integration unit 121 to the parasitic capacitor 122;

[0102] The second end of the parasitic capacitor 122 is also connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor 122 in at least one pixel circuit 12 , and the parasitic capacitor stores overflow charges of the parasitic capacitor 122 through the parasitic capacitor 122 in the at least one pixel circuit 12 .

[0103] It can be understood that, for any pixel circuit among the M pixel circuits, the second end of the parasitic capacitor in a pixel circuit can be connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor in at least one pixel circuit other than the pixel circuit, hereinafter referred to as the other pixel circuit, so that the parasitic capacitor can store the overflow charge of the parasitic capacitor 122 through the parasitic capacitor in the at least one pixel circuit.

[0104] In some embodiments of the present application, for any pixel circuit, other pixel circuits corresponding to one pixel circuit may include at least one of the following:

[0105] Pixel circuits adjacent to a pixel circuit, such as the first pixel circuit on the left side of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit on the right side of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit on the upper side of a pixel circuit, and the first pixel circuit on the lower side of a pixel circuit;

[0106] At least one pixel circuit adjacent to a pixel circuit and located in the same pixel row, such as: the nearest K pixel circuits located on the left side of a pixel, the nearest K pixel circuits located on the right side of a pixel circuit, where K is a positive integer;

[0107] at least one pixel circuit adjacent to a pixel circuit and located in the same pixel column, such as: the nearest J pixel circuits located above a pixel, the nearest J pixel circuits located below a pixel circuit, where K is a positive integer;

[0108] Pixel circuits around a pixel circuit, such as: the first pixel circuit on the left side of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit on the right side of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit on the upper side of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit on the lower side of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit located at the upper left of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit located at the lower left of a pixel circuit, the first pixel circuit located at the upper right of a pixel circuit, and the first pixel circuit located at the upper right of a pixel circuit.

[0109] For example, Figure 7B Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a pixel circuit in an image sensor. Figure 7B As shown, for the pixel circuit 33, other pixel circuits corresponding to the pixel circuit 33 may include at least one of the following:

[0110] Pixel circuits adjacent to the pixel circuit 33 , such as the pixel circuits 32 , 34 , 23 , and 43 .

[0111] A first pixel circuit 32 on the left side of the pixel circuit 33, a first pixel circuit 34 on the right side of the pixel circuit, a first pixel circuit 23 on the upper side of the pixel circuit, and a first pixel circuit 43 on the lower side of the pixel circuit;

[0112] At least one pixel circuit adjacent to the pixel circuit 33 and located in the same pixel row, such as: the two pixel circuits located on the left side of the pixel circuit, namely, the pixel circuit 31 and the pixel circuit 32, and the two pixel circuits located on the right side of the pixel circuit, namely, the pixel circuits 34 and 35;

[0113] At least one pixel circuit adjacent to the pixel circuit 33 and located in the same pixel column, such as: the two pixel circuits located above the pixel circuit 33, namely, the pixel circuit 23 and the pixel circuit 13, and the two pixel circuits located below the pixel circuit 33, namely, the pixel circuit 43 and the pixel circuit 53;

[0114] Pixel circuits around the pixel circuit 33, such as: the first pixel circuit 32 on the left side of the pixel circuit 33, the first pixel circuit 34 on the right side of the pixel circuit 33, the first pixel circuit 23 on the upper side of the pixel circuit 33, the first pixel circuit 43 on the lower side of the pixel circuit 33, the first pixel circuit 24 on the upper left of the pixel circuit 33, the first pixel circuit 42 located at the lower left of the pixel circuit 33, the first pixel circuit 24 located at the upper right of the pixel circuit 33 and the first pixel circuit 44 located at the lower right of a pixel circuit.

[0115] It should be noted that the arrangement of the pixel circuits in the image sensor is consistent with the arrangement of the photosensitive units in the image sensor.

[0116] In some embodiments of the present application, since the second end of the parasitic capacitor in each pixel circuit is connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor in at least one other pixel circuit, when a photosensitive unit is overexposed, the parasitic capacitor in the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit can cache the overflowed gain charge into at least one parasitic capacitor connected to the parasitic capacitor, thereby avoiding the waste of photosensitive voltage.

[0117] It should be noted that after the image sensor outputs an image, the image can be subjected to charge redistribution processing according to the gain charge recorded by the photon mapping unit in the image sensor, so that the charge distribution of the processed image is the same as the actual gain charge of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor, and then the image data is bit widened to avoid overexposure of the image corresponding to the image data.

[0118] For example, the bit depth of the image sensor is 8 bits, and the maximum grayscale corresponding to 8 bits is 256. If the grayscale corresponding to a photosensitive unit is 800, then the photosensitive unit is overexposed. Therefore, the image output by the image sensor can be bit widened. For example, if the bit depth of the image is widened to 10 bits, the maximum grayscale of 10 bits is 1024. It can be seen that after the image is bit widened, the photosensitive unit with a grayscale of 800 is no longer overexposed. It should be noted that the grayscale corresponding to the photosensitive unit is determined by the real photosensitive charge corresponding to the photosensitive unit. The larger the real photosensitive charge, the larger the grayscale corresponding to the photosensitive unit.

[0119] In this way, since the photon mapping unit can record the gain charge amount of the gain charge transmitted by the integration unit to the parasitic capacitor, and when the charge in the parasitic capacitor overflows, the overflow charge can be stored in at least one parasitic capacitor connected to the parasitic capacitor, after the image sensor outputs the image, the image can be charge redistributed according to the gain charge amount recorded by each photon mapping unit, so that the brightness of the processed image is more consistent with the actual lighting of the environment.

[0120] In some embodiments of the present application, Figure 6 ,like Figure 8 As shown, each pixel circuit 12 may further include a filter capacitor 124; a first end of the filter capacitor 124 is connected to the voltage regulating module 13 connected to the integration unit 121, and a second end of the filter capacitor 124 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11 corresponding to the integration unit;

[0121] The filter capacitor 124 can be used to filter out noise in the photosensitive charge of the connected photosensitive unit 11 .

[0122] In this way, since each pixel circuit is provided with a filter capacitor, the photosensitive noise introduced by the photosensitive unit connected to the filter capacitor during the photosensitive process can be filtered out by the filter capacitor, thereby improving the shooting quality of the image sensor.

[0123] In some embodiments of the present application, each pixel circuit further includes: a transmission gate TG transistor, a reset RST transistor, a source follower SF transistor and a selection RSL transistor. Among them, the first end of the RST transistor is connected to the second end of a voltage-stabilizing capacitor, and the second end of the RST transistor is connected to the first end of the integration unit; the first end of the TG transistor is connected to the first end of the integration unit, and the second end of the TG transistor is connected to the first end of a photosensitive unit; the first end of the SF transistor is connected to the second end of a voltage-stabilizing capacitor, the second end of the SF transistor is connected to the first end of the RSL transistor, and the third end of the SF transistor is connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor; the second end of the RSL transistor is connected to a pixel output circuit of the image sensor.

[0124] The working process of the image sensor provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0125] For ease of description, the working process of the pixel circuit in the embodiment of the present application is described below by taking a photosensitive unit as an example:

[0126] Reset: Both the TG transistor and the RST transistor are turned on to clear the electrons remaining in the PD and parasitics. At this time, the integration unit can obtain the operating voltage of the pixel circuit through the RST transistor;

[0127] Reset level readout: After reset is completed, the SF transistor and the RSL transistor are turned on, and the reset level in the parasitic capacitance is read out through the SF transistor and the RSL transistor. The reset level includes the offset noise of the MOS tube, the 1 / f noise, and the noise introduced by the reset.

[0128] Exposure: Both the RST transistor and the TG transistor are disconnected, the PD begins to be sensitive to light, and the electron-hole pairs generated by light irradiation will separate due to the electric field in the PD, thus realizing PD exposure;

[0129] Charge transfer and amplification: The TG transistor is turned on, and the charge in the PD enters the integration unit through the TG transistor. The integration unit integrates the charge based on the operating voltage of the pixel circuit and transfers the processed charge to the photon mapping unit. The photon mapping unit records the amount of charge passing through and transfers the charge to the parasitic capacitor for storage;

[0130] Charge readout: The voltage signal of FD is output through the SF transistor and the SET transistor.

[0131] Signal level readout: Turn on the SF transistor and the RSL transistor, and control the signal voltage in the parasitic capacitance through the SF transistor and the SET transistor. The signal voltage here may include: the gain voltage obtained by the photosensitive voltage gain processing generated by the photoelectric conversion of the integration unit, the offset noise generated by the integration unit, the 1 / f noise and the noise introduced by the reset, and the read voltage signal is recorded as voltage signal 1.

[0132] Acquisition of image data of the photosensitive unit: subtracting the reset level from the voltage signal 1 to obtain image data corresponding to the photosensitive unit, thereby reducing noise in the image data of the photosensitive unit.

[0133] The image sensor provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0134] For example, taking each voltage regulating module in the image sensor connected to a pixel circuit as an example, for any voltage regulating module in the image sensor, Fig. 9 As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 is connected to the pixel circuit 12 - 1 , and the pixel circuit 12 - 1 is connected to the PD 11 - 1 .

[0135] Specifically, the voltage regulating module 13 includes an operational amplifier 132, a variable resistor 131 and a voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, and a first end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to the first power supply 14, a second end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to a first end of the PD 11-1, a third end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to a first end of the variable resistor 131, and a second end of the variable resistor 131 is connected to a first end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133;

[0136] The pixel circuit 12 - 1 includes an RST transistor S11 , a TG transistor S21 , an SF transistor S31 , an RSL transistor S41 , an integrating unit 1211 , a photon mapping unit 1231 , and a parasitic capacitor 1221 . A first end of the RST transistor S11 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, and a second end of the RST transistor S11 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1211; a second end of the integration unit 1211 is connected to a first end of the photon mapping unit 1231, a second end of the photon mapping unit is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1221, and a second end of the parasitic capacitor 1221 is grounded; a first end of the TG transistor S21 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1211, a second end of the TG transistor S21 is connected to a first end of the PD11-1, and a second end of the PD11-1 is grounded; a first end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, a second end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a first end of the RSL transistor S41, and a third end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1221; a second end of the RSL transistor S41 is connected to a pixel output circuit in the image sensor.

[0137] In this way, since the voltage regulating module 13 is connected to the pixel circuit 12 - 1 , the voltage regulating module 13 can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12 - 1 , thereby adjusting the photosensitivity gain of the PD 11 - 1 .

[0138] For example, taking each voltage regulating module in the image sensor connected to a pixel circuit as an example, for any voltage regulating module in the image sensor, Fig.10 As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 is connected to the pixel circuit 12 - 1 and the pixel circuit 12 - 2 respectively, and the pixel circuit 12 - 1 is connected to the PD 11 - 1, and the pixel circuit 12 - 2 is connected to the PD 11 - 2.

[0139] Specifically, the voltage regulating module 13 includes an operational amplifier 132, a variable resistor 131 and a voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, and a first end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to the first power supply 14, a second end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to a first end of PD11-1 and a first end of PD11-2 respectively, a third end of the operational amplifier 132 is connected to a first end of the variable resistor 131, and a second end of the variable resistor 131 is connected to a first end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133;

[0140] The pixel circuit 12 - 1 includes an RST transistor S11 , a TG transistor S21 , an SF transistor S31 , an RSL transistor S41 , an integrating unit 1211 , a photon mapping unit 1231 , and a parasitic capacitor 1221 . A first end of the RST transistor S11 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, and a second end of the RST transistor S11 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1211; a second end of the integration unit 1211 is connected to a first end of the photon mapping unit 1231, a second end of the photon mapping unit is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1221, and a second end of the parasitic capacitor 1221 is grounded; a first end of the TG transistor S21 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1211, a second end of the TG transistor S21 is connected to a first end of the PD11-1, and a second end of the PD11-1 is grounded; a first end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, a second end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a first end of the RSL transistor S41, and a third end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1221; a second end of the RSL transistor S41 is connected to a pixel output circuit in the image sensor;

[0141] The pixel circuit 12 - 2 includes an RST transistor S12 , a TG transistor S22 , an SF transistor S32 , an RSL transistor S42 , an integration unit 1212 , a photon mapping unit 1232 , and a parasitic capacitor 1222 . A first end of the RST transistor S12 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, and a second end of the RST transistor S12 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1212; a second end of the integration unit 1212 is connected to a first end of the photon mapping unit 1232, a second end of the photon mapping unit 1232 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1222, and a second end of the parasitic capacitor 1222 is grounded; a first end of the TG transistor S22 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1212, a second end of the TG transistor S22 is connected to a first end of the PD11-2, and a second end of the PD11-2 is grounded; a first end of the SF transistor S32 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 133, a second end of the SF transistor S32 is connected to a first end of the RSL transistor S42, and a third end of the SF transistor S32 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1222; a second end of the RSL transistor S42 is connected to another pixel output circuit in the image sensor.

[0142] In this way, since the voltage regulating module 13 is connected to the pixel circuits 12 - 1 and 12 - 2 , the voltage regulating module 13 can adjust the operating voltages of the pixel circuits 12 - 1 and 12 - 2 , thereby adjusting the photosensitivity gains of the PDs 11 - 1 and 11 - 2 .

[0143] For example, each voltage regulating module in the image sensor is connected to a pixel circuit, then the combination Fig.11 The two voltage regulating modules in the image sensor, the pixel circuit connected to the two voltage regulating modules, and the connection circuit between the two PDs corresponding to the two voltage regulating modules are described.

[0144] like Fig.11 As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 - 1 is connected to the pixel circuit 12 - 1 and the pixel circuit 12 - 2 respectively, and the pixel circuit 12 - 1 is connected to the PD 11 - 1, and the pixel circuit 12 - 2 is connected to the PD 11 - 2.

[0145] Specifically, the voltage regulation module 13-1 includes an operational amplifier 1321, a variable resistor 1311 and a voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1331, and the first end of the operational amplifier 1321 is connected to the first power supply 14, the second end of the operational amplifier 1321 is connected to the first end of the PD11-1, the third end of the operational amplifier 1321 is connected to the first end of the variable resistor 1311, and the second end of the variable resistor 1311 is connected to the first end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1331; the pixel circuit 12-1 includes an RST transistor S11, a TG transistor S21, an SF transistor S31, an RSL transistor S41, an integration unit 1211, a photon mapping unit 1231 and a parasitic capacitor 1221. A first end of the RST transistor S11 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1331, and a second end of the RST transistor S11 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1211; a second end of the integration unit 1211 is connected to a first end of the photon mapping unit 1231, a second end of the photon mapping unit is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1221, and a second end of the parasitic capacitor 1221 is grounded; a first end of the TG transistor S21 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1211, a second end of the TG transistor S21 is connected to a first end of the PD11-1, and a second end of the PD11-1 is grounded; a first end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1331, a second end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a first end of the RSL transistor S41, and a third end of the SF transistor S31 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1221; a second end of the RSL transistor S41 is connected to a pixel output circuit in the image sensor;

[0146] The voltage regulating module 13-2 includes an operational amplifier 1322, a variable resistor 1312 and a voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1332, wherein a first end of the operational amplifier 1322 is connected to the first power source 14, a second end of the operational amplifier 1322 is connected to a first end of the PD 11-2, a third end of the operational amplifier 1322 is connected to a first end of the variable resistor 1312, and a second end of the variable resistor 1312 is connected to a first end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1332;

[0147] The pixel circuit 12 - 2 includes an RST transistor S12 , a TG transistor S22 , an SF transistor S32 , an RSL transistor S42 , an integration unit 1212 , a photon mapping unit 1232 , and a parasitic capacitor 1222 . A first end of the RST transistor S12 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1332, and a second end of the RST transistor S12 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1212; a second end of the integration unit 1212 is connected to a first end of the photon mapping unit 1232, a second end of the photon mapping unit 1232 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1222, and a second end of the parasitic capacitor 1222 is grounded; a first end of the TG transistor S22 is connected to a first end of the integration unit 1212, a second end of the TG transistor S22 is connected to a first end of the PD11-2, and a second end of the PD11-2 is grounded; a first end of the SF transistor S32 is connected to a second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor 1332, a second end of the SF transistor S32 is connected to a first end of the RSL transistor S42, and a third end of the SF transistor S32 is connected to a first end of the parasitic capacitor 1222; a second end of the RSL transistor S42 is connected to another pixel output circuit in the image sensor.

[0148] It can be seen that since the voltage regulation module 13-1 is connected to the pixel circuit 12-1 and the voltage regulation module 13-2 is connected to the pixel circuit 12-2, the operating voltages of the pixel circuit 12-1 and the pixel circuit 12-2 can be adjusted respectively by the voltage regulation module 13-1 and the voltage regulation module 13-1, so that the photosensitivity gains of PD11-1 and PD11-2 can be independently adjusted, thereby improving the flexibility of adjusting the photosensitivity gain.

[0149] In the image sensor provided in the embodiment of the present application, since the image sensor includes at least two voltage regulation modules, and each voltage regulation module can independently adjust the operating voltage of at least one pixel circuit connected thereto, so that each pixel circuit adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be differentially adjusted to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area and increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor.

[0150] The present application embodiment provides a camera module, such as Fig.12 As shown, the camera module 200 may include the image sensor 100 in the above embodiment.

[0151] In some embodiments of the present application, Fig.12 As shown, the camera module 200 may further include: a lens group 210, a focus motor 220, a filter 230, a conversion circuit and a memory.

[0152] The lens group 210 is embedded in the focus motor 220. The lens group 210 is arranged opposite to the image sensor 100. The filter 230 is located between the lens group 210 and the image sensor 100. The conversion circuit is connected to the output end of the image sensor (such as the second end of the selection transistor RSeL) to convert the analog image signal obtained by the image sensor into a digital image signal and output it. The memory is connected to the output end of the conversion circuit to store the digital image signal converted by the conversion circuit.

[0153] In some embodiments of the present application, Fig.12 As shown, the camera module 200 may further include a base 240 and a shell connected to the base, and the image sensor 100 is disposed on the base 240 .

[0154] In some embodiments of the present application, the focus motor may be connected to a first spring sheet and a second spring sheet disposed on the housing, wherein the housing is connected to the base. Fig.11 When focusing, the focus motor is powered on to generate magnetic force to compress the first spring sheet or the second spring sheet to push the lens group to the focus position.

[0155] It can be understood that the final position of the focus motor can be controlled by the magnitude of the current or voltage applied to the focus motor.

[0156] In some embodiments of the present application, the filter may be a Bayer filter or an infrared filter, etc.

[0157] It can be understood that the light that converges into the lens group is projected onto the filter, and the function of the filter is to filter out unnecessary light that passes through the lens group, prevent the image sensor from generating false colors and ripples, and improve the effective resolution and color reproduction of the image sensor. The light that passes through the filter can be sensed by the image sensor.

[0158] In the camera module provided by the embodiment of the present application, since the image sensor in the camera module includes at least two voltage regulation modules, and each voltage regulation module can independently adjust the operating voltage of at least one pixel circuit connected thereto, so that each pixel circuit adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be differentially adjusted to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area and increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor.

[0159] The present application provides an image processing device, which may include Fig.12 The camera module shown.

[0160] In the image processing device provided by the embodiment of the present application, since the image sensor in the image processing device includes at least two voltage regulation modules, and each voltage regulation module can independently adjust the operating voltage of at least one pixel circuit connected thereto, so that each pixel circuit adjusts the photosensitivity gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be differentially adjusted to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area and increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor.

[0161] The embodiment of the present application also provides an exposure method. The exposure method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be performed by an image processing device, or an electronic device, or a functional module or entity in an electronic device. The embodiment of the present application takes the image processing device performing the exposure method as an example to illustrate the exposure method provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0162] The present application also provides an exposure method, comprising: Fig.12 The image processing device shown executes, Fig.13 The schematic diagram of the process of the exposure method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown as follows: Fig.13 As shown, the exposure method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps 1201 to 1203.

[0163] Step 1201: The image processing device determines N ambient brightness ranges according to the brightness distribution information of the preview image collected by the image sensor, wherein each ambient brightness range corresponds to at least one photosensitive unit in the image sensor, and N is a positive integer.

[0164] In some embodiments of the present application, the electronic device can turn on the camera and enter the preview mode, so that the electronic device can display the preview image collected by the image sensor on the preview interface. The electronic device can then perform grayscale processing on the preview image to obtain a grayscale image. The electronic device can then perform connected domain processing and region segmentation processing on the grayscale image based on multiple ambient brightness thresholds, and divide the grayscale image into multiple image areas, each image area corresponding to a brightness range. Among them, the brightness distribution information of the preview image can be information such as a table indicating the correspondence between the multiple image areas and the brightness ranges.

[0165] For example, Fig.14A As shown in FIG. 1 , the grayscale image of the preview image corresponding to the image sensor is shown in FIG. 1 . Then, the electronic device can segment the grayscale image into Fig. 14BThe image areas 30 to 50 shown are 20 image areas in total, among which image areas 30, 32, 34 and 36 all correspond to the ambient brightness range [0, 100); image areas 39, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49 and 51 all correspond to the ambient brightness range [100, 255); image areas 41, 44, 45 and 50 all correspond to the ambient brightness range [255, 500); image areas 31, 33, 35, 40, 42 and 50 all correspond to the ambient brightness range [500, 773); image area 37 corresponds to the ambient brightness range [773, 923); and image area 38 corresponds to the brightness range [923, 1023].

[0166] It can be understood that there is a one-to-one mapping relationship between the pixels in the grayscale image and the photosensitive units in the image sensor. Therefore, after obtaining the brightness distribution map of the preview image based on the grayscale image of the preview image, the above-mentioned N ambient brightness ranges can be determined based on the mapping relationship.

[0167] Step 1202: The image processing device adjusts the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor through the voltage adjustment module in the image sensor according to N ambient brightness ranges during the process of controlling the exposure of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor.

[0168] Step 1203: The image processing device determines the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit connected to each pixel circuit according to the operating voltage of each pixel circuit in the image sensor.

[0169] Among them, each pixel circuit in the image sensor is connected to a voltage regulation module and a photosensitive unit, each voltage regulation module is connected to at least one pixel circuit, and each voltage regulation module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit according to the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit.

[0170] It should be noted that the image processing device can determine the ambient brightness range used by each voltage regulating module and the adjusted pixel circuit according to the connection relationship between at least two voltage regulating modules in the image sensor and M pixel circuits in the image sensor.

[0171] In some embodiments of the present application, the “ambient brightness range of a photosensitive unit” refers to: the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit among the above-mentioned N ambient brightness ranges.

[0172] In some embodiments of the present application, the photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulating module includes: the photosensitive unit connected to each pixel circuit connected to the voltage regulating module.

[0173] For the convenience of description, the following may refer to the “ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulating module” as “ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module”. The two terms have the same meaning and can be interchanged. Figure 2B As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 - 1 corresponds to the photosensitive unit 11 - 1 and the photosensitive unit 11 - 2 , so that the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module may include: the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit 11 - 1 and the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit 11 - 2 .

[0174] For example, Figure 2B As shown, the voltage regulating module 13 - 2 corresponds to the photosensitive unit 11 - 3 and the photosensitive unit 11 - 4 , so that the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module may include: the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit 11 - 3 and the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit 11 - 4 .

[0175] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device can determine the relationship between the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulation module and the first ambient brightness range, the second ambient brightness range and the third ambient brightness range, and then the voltage regulation module can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the voltage regulation module based on the judgment result.

[0176] Among them, the first ambient brightness range is used to indicate that the lighting environment is normal, the second ambient brightness range is used to indicate that the lighting environment is dark, such as underexposure, and the third ambient brightness range is used to indicate that the brightness range is bright, such as overexposure.

[0177] For example, the first environment brightness range may be [255, 773), the second environment brightness range may be [0, 255), and the third environment brightness range may be [773, 1023].

[0178] Of course, the first ambient brightness range, the second ambient brightness range and the third ambient brightness range may also be any possible ambient brightness range, which is specifically determined according to actual use requirements.

[0179] In some embodiments of the present application, "adjusting the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor through the voltage adjustment module in the image sensor according to N ambient brightness ranges" in step 1202 may include (i) or (ii).

[0180] (i) Each voltage regulating module can be used to keep the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit unchanged when the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit is within the first ambient brightness range.

[0181] (ii) The processing module in the image processing device can be used to calculate the first voltage according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage adjustment module when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage adjustment module is within the second ambient brightness range or the third ambient brightness range; each voltage adjustment module can be used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit to the first voltage.

[0182] The first parameter may include at least one of the following: sensitivity of the image sensor and a second parameter; the second parameter may include at least one of the following: motion information of the image processing device and posture information of the image processing device.

[0183] In some embodiments of the present application, for each photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulation module, the voltage regulation module can maintain the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit unchanged when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit is within the first ambient brightness range; or, the voltage regulation module can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit to the first voltage when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit is within the second ambient brightness range or the third ambient brightness range.

[0184] For example, Figure 2A As shown, the voltage regulating module 13-1 is connected to the pixel circuit 12-1, and the pixel circuit 12-1 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11-1, so that the voltage regulating module 13-1 corresponds to the photosensitive unit 11-1; the voltage regulating module 13-2 is connected to the pixel circuit 12-2, and the pixel circuit 12-2 is connected to the photosensitive unit 11-2, so that the voltage regulating module 13-2 corresponds to the photosensitive unit 11-2. Therefore: if the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit 11-1 is within the first ambient brightness range, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can keep the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1 unchanged; if the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit 11-2 is within the second ambient brightness range or the third ambient brightness range, the voltage regulating module 13-2 can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2 to the first operating voltage.

[0185] It should be noted that the first voltage calculated by the processing module according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness ranges corresponding to different voltage adjustment modules may be different. The specific process of calculating the first voltage is described in the following embodiments, and will not be repeated here to avoid repetition.

[0186] It can be understood that when the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit is within the first ambient brightness range, it means that the light irradiating the photosensitive unit is sufficient and suitable for taking pictures, so there is no need to adjust the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit, thereby keeping the operating voltage of the first pixel circuit unchanged.

[0187] When the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit is within the second ambient brightness range, it means that the light irradiating on the photosensitive unit is less and underexposed. Therefore, the voltage regulation module corresponding to the photosensitive unit can increase the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit to increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit.

[0188] When the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit is within the third ambient brightness range, it means that too much light is irradiated on the photosensitive unit and it is overexposed. Therefore, the voltage adjustment module corresponding to the photosensitive unit can reduce the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit.

[0189] It should be noted that the sensitivity of the image sensor is a fixed value. The sensitivity of the image sensor indicates: the sensitivity of the image sensor to light.

[0190] The posture information of the image processing device may be used to indicate the posture or fixing mode of the image processing device. The posture of the image processing device may include: hand-held or fixed.

[0191] In some embodiments of the present application, the motion information of the image processing device may include at least one of the following: the moving speed of the image processing device, the moving acceleration of the image processing device, the rotation angle of the image processing device, the mode information of the image processing device, the jitter parameter of the image processing device, etc.

[0192] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device may obtain the moving speed and moving acceleration of the image processing device through an accelerometer (ACC) in the image processing device.

[0193] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device may obtain the rotation angle of the image processing device through a gyroscope (gyro) in the image processing device.

[0194] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device may determine the posture information of the image processing device based on a jitter parameter of the image processing device or a contact sensor on the image processing device.

[0195] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device may determine the jitter parameter of the image processing device through an image captured by an image sensor, or may measure the jitter parameter of the image processing device through an accelerometer.

[0196] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the voltage regulation module by adjusting the resistance value of the variable resistor in the voltage regulation module.

[0197] In some embodiments of the present application, the resistance of the variable resistor can change with the change of the photosensitive voltage obtained by the photosensitive unit, thereby affecting the change of the operating voltage of the pixel circuit. For example, when overexposed, the number of photons increases and the photosensitive voltage increases. At this time, the resistance of the variable resistor can increase, so that the current decreases, thereby reducing the operating voltage of the pixel circuit. When underexposed, the number of photons decreases and the photosensitive voltage decreases. At this time, the resistance of the variable resistor can decrease, so that the current increases, thereby increasing the operating voltage of the pixel circuit. When the light is normal, the photosensitive voltage is sufficient. At this time, the resistance of the variable resistor can remain unchanged, so that the current remains unchanged, thereby keeping the operating voltage of the pixel circuit unchanged.

[0198] In some embodiments of the present application, in the above (ii), each voltage regulating module can be used to adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit to the first voltage during the exposure process of each photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module.

[0199] For example, in line exposure mode, Figure 2B As shown, assuming that the photosensitive unit 11-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-2 are two photosensitive units in the same pixel row, the voltage adjustment module 13-1 can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1 and the pixel circuit 12-2 to the first voltage after the pixel row where the photosensitive unit 11-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-2 are located starts to be exposed.

[0200] For example, in the row exposure mode, Figure 2B As shown, assuming that the photosensitive unit 11-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-2 are two photosensitive units in different pixel rows, the voltage adjustment module 13-1 can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1 to the first voltage after the pixel row where the photosensitive unit 11-1 is located starts to be exposed; and adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2 to the first voltage after the pixel row where the photosensitive unit 11-2 is located starts to be exposed.

[0201] In this way, when the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit is within the second ambient brightness range or the third ambient brightness range, since the voltage adjustment module corresponding to the photosensitive unit can adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit to the first voltage during the exposure of the photosensitive unit, the pixel circuit can adjust the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage, thereby avoiding overexposure or underexposure of the photosensitive unit.

[0202] It should be noted that although the ambient brightness corresponding to each photosensitive unit is different according to the preview image, since the mapping area of ​​a single photosensitive unit in the preview image is small, in most cases, the ambient brightness of all photosensitive units corresponding to the same voltage regulation module is the same, or the difference is small. Therefore, the ambient brightness range of all photosensitive units corresponding to the same voltage regulation module is the same.

[0203] In addition, when a voltage regulation module corresponds to multiple photosensitive units, for extreme cases, such as when the multiple photosensitive units correspond to different ambient brightness ranges, the ambient brightness range with the largest threshold in the ambient brightness ranges corresponding to these photosensitive units is used as the adjustment and judgment standard for the operating voltage of the pixel circuits connected to these photosensitive units.

[0204] For example, Figure 2B As shown, the voltage regulation module 13-1 corresponds to the photosensitive unit 11-1 and the photosensitive unit 11-2. Assuming that the photosensitive unit 11-1 corresponds to the ambient brightness range [0, 100) and the photosensitive unit 11-2 corresponds to the ambient brightness range [100, 255), then: the image processing device can use the ambient brightness range [100, 255) as a basis for determining whether to adjust the operating voltages of the pixel circuit 12-1 and the pixel circuit 12-2.

[0205] Of course, in actual implementation, when the photosensitive units corresponding to the same voltage regulation module correspond to different ambient brightness ranges, the ambient brightness range corresponding to the majority of the photosensitive units may be used as the basis. For example, if two photosensitive units correspond to ambient brightness range 1 and one photosensitive unit corresponds to ambient brightness range 2, ambient brightness range 1 is used as the basis for judgment.

[0206] In this way, since the sensitivity of the image sensor, the motion state information of the image processing device and the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit are all related to the shooting quality of the image sensor, based on this information, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit can be adjusted more accurately to adjust the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor when the ambient lighting remains unchanged.

[0207] In some embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned "calculating the first voltage according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage adjustment module" can be implemented by the following step A.

[0208] Step A: When the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range, the processing module calculates the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module according to the formula A first voltage is calculated.

[0209] Among them, f(x) represents the first voltage, S represents the sensitivity of the image sensor, a represents the weighting coefficient, and a is determined by the second parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulation module, T represents the number of photosensitive units of each voltage regulation module, and v represents the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage regulation module during the process of capturing the preview image.

[0210] In some embodiments of the present application, the sensitivity of the image sensor may be represented by the sensitivity, energy conversion efficiency or signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor.

[0211] The method for determining the weighting coefficient will be described in detail in the following embodiments.

[0212] Thus, when the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range, the processing module in the image processing device can adjust the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module according to the formula The first voltage is calculated, thereby ensuring that the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the voltage regulating module is rapidly increased.

[0213] In some embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned "calculating the first voltage according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage adjustment module" can be implemented by the following step B.

[0214] Step B: when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the third ambient brightness range, according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module, according to the formula f(x)=T (S*a) *v, calculate the first voltage.

[0215] Among them, f(x) represents the first voltage, S represents the sensitivity of the image sensor, a represents the weighting coefficient, and a is determined by the second parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulation module, T represents the number of photosensitive units of each voltage regulation module, and v represents the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage regulation module during the process of capturing the preview image.

[0216] Thus, when the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range, since the processing module can calculate the ambient brightness range corresponding to the voltage regulating module according to the first parameter, f(x)=T (S*a) *v, calculate the first voltage, thereby ensuring that the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the voltage regulation module is reduced quickly and stably.

[0217] The following describes a method for determining the weighting coefficient.

[0218] In some embodiments of the present application, the motion information of the image processing device is positively correlated with the weighting coefficient. For example, the greater the motion speed, the greater the weighting coefficient; the greater the motion acceleration, the greater the weighting coefficient; the greater the rotation angle, the greater the weighting coefficient; the greater the shaking amplitude, the greater the weighting coefficient.

[0219] It can be understood that when the image processing device is stationary, the environment changes little, so the working voltage of the pixel circuit can be maintained or slightly adjusted, so the weighting coefficient is small. When the image processing device is moving, the environment changes quickly, so the working voltage of the pixel circuit can change rapidly, so the weighting coefficient is large to ensure that the working voltage changes rapidly and continuously.

[0220] For example, in scenes such as running, the picture switches quickly, and the operating voltage of the pixel circuit can change quickly, that is, the change rate is fast, to ensure that the picture taken by the image sensor does not suddenly brighten and darken; in static scenes, the picture is almost unchanged, so the operating voltage change rate of the pixel circuit can be smaller, and the voltage can be maintained stable.

[0221] It can be understood that the above weighting coefficient can be determined by the weighted sum of multiple sub-weights.

[0222] For example, a weight coefficient is determined according to the ambient brightness range corresponding to the first photosensitive unit, the moving speed of the image processing device, the moving acceleration of the image processing device, the shaking amplitude of the image processing device, and the rotation angle of the image processing device. Then, these weight coefficients are weighted and summed to obtain the above weight coefficient.

[0223] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device can set multiple motion threshold ranges, such as setting at least one of the following: multiple speed threshold ranges, multiple acceleration threshold ranges, and multiple jitter amplitude threshold ranges, and each motion threshold range corresponds to a weighting coefficient, so that the weighting coefficient can be quickly selected according to the motion threshold range in which the motion information of the image processing device is located.

[0224] In some embodiments of the present application, in the above step A, the end value of the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulating module is negatively correlated with the weighting coefficient, such as the larger the minimum value of the ambient brightness range, the smaller the weighting coefficient, or the larger the maximum value of the ambient brightness range, the smaller the weighting coefficient. It can be understood that when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range, the greater the ambient brightness, the closer it is to normal lighting, and therefore the smaller the adjustment amplitude.

[0225] In some embodiments of the present application, in the above step B, the end value of the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulating module is positively correlated with the weighting coefficient, such as the larger the minimum value of the ambient brightness range, the larger the weighting coefficient, or the larger the maximum value of the ambient brightness range, the larger the weighting coefficient. It can be understood that when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the voltage regulating module is within the third ambient brightness range, the smaller the ambient brightness, the closer it is to normal lighting, and therefore the smaller the adjustment amplitude.

[0226] In some embodiments of the present application, the image processing device can classify the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the second parameter and the voltage adjustment module, and each category corresponds to a weighting coefficient, so that the weighting coefficient can be determined more quickly.

[0227] Exemplarily, the image processing device may classify the second parameter and the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive unit into 15 categories, and each category corresponds to a weighting coefficient. The 15 categories are:

[0228] 1. Tripod stationary + polar night environment, weighting coefficient a = 0.04;

[0229] 2. Tripod stationary + dark environment, weighting coefficient a = 0.00375;

[0230] 3. The tripod is stationary in normal daytime environment, without adjustment;

[0231] 4. Tripod stationary + bright environment, weighting coefficient a = -0.00025;

[0232] 5. Tripod still + high brightness environment, weighting coefficient a = -0.0005;

[0233] 6. Handheld static + polar night environment, weighting coefficient a = 0.045;

[0234] 7. Handheld static + dark environment, weighting coefficient a = 0.0038;

[0235] 8. Handheld and stationary + normal daytime environment, no adjustment;

[0236] 9. Handheld static + bright environment, weighting coefficient a = -0.0002;

[0237] 10. Handheld static + high brightness environment, weighting coefficient a = -0.0004;

[0238] 11. Handheld walking + polar night environment, weighting coefficient a = 0.05;

[0239] 12. Handheld walking + dark environment, weighting coefficient a = 0.0040;

[0240] 13. Hand-held walking + normal daytime environment, no adjustment;

[0241] 14. Handheld walking + bright environment, weighting coefficient a = -0.00015;

[0242] 15. Handheld walking + high-brightness environment, weighting coefficient a = -0.00035.

[0243] Wherein, “the tripod is stationary” means that: the jitter parameter of the image processing device is less than the first jitter threshold, and the moving speed is less than the first speed threshold;

[0244] “Hand-held and stationary” means: the jitter parameter of the image processing device is greater than or equal to the first jitter threshold and less than the second jitter threshold, and the moving speed of the image processing device is less than the first speed threshold;

[0245] “Hand-held walking” means that the jitter parameter of the image processing device is greater than the second jitter threshold, and the moving speed of the image processing device is greater than or equal to the first speed threshold.

[0246] Among them, "polar night environment" means that the environment brightness range is [0, 100); "dark environment" means that the environment brightness range is [100, 255); "normal daytime environment" means that the environment brightness range is [255, 500); "bright environment" means that the environment brightness range is [500, 773); "high brightness environment" means that the environment brightness range is [773, 1023). It can be understood that the weights corresponding to the above 15 categories can be determined based on experimental data, big data or experience.

[0247] The exposure method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0248] For example, assuming that the image sensor is Figure 2BAs shown, and the sensitivity of the image sensor is ISO 800, the operating voltages of the pixel circuits 12-1 and 12-2 are both 3.2V during the image sensor capture preview image, and the operating voltages of the pixel circuits 12-3 and 12-4 are 3.4V, the second parameter is that the tripod is stationary, that is, the jitter parameter of the image processing device is less than the first jitter threshold, and the moving speed is less than the first speed threshold, the first ambient brightness range is the first ambient brightness range can be [255, 773), the second ambient brightness range can be: [0, 255), and the third ambient brightness range can be [773, 1023]; it is also assumed that the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-1 and 11-2 is [100, 255), and the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-3 and 11-4 is [500, 773), that is, the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-1 and 11-2 is within the second ambient brightness range, and the ambient brightness range corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-3 and 11-4 is within the third ambient brightness range. Then, during the exposure process of the photosensitive units in the image sensor, the processing module can first determine that the weighting coefficients corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-1 and 11-2 are 0.00375 based on the ambient brightness range [100, 255) and the second parameter corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-1 and 11-2; and determine that the weighting coefficients corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-3 and 11-4 are 0.00025 based on the ambient brightness range [500, 773) and the second parameter corresponding to the photosensitive units 11-3 and 11-4.

[0249] Then, the processing module can calculate the weighted coefficient a=0.00375, the sensitivity of the image sensor S=800 and v=3.2V according to the formula Calculate the operating voltage of pixel circuits 12-1 and 12-2 (V). Furthermore, the processing module can calculate the image quality of the image sensor according to the formula f(x)=T according to the weighting coefficient a=0.00025, the sensitivity of the image sensor S=800 and v2=3.4V. (S*a) *v calculates the operating voltage of the pixel circuits 12-1 and 12-2 f2 = f2 = 2 (800*A2) *3.4=2.9(V).

[0250] Thus, during the exposure of the photosensitive unit 11-1, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can adjust the working voltage of the pixel circuit 12-1 to f1=3.6V, so that the pixel circuit 12-1 increases the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-1 according to the working voltage to avoid underexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-1; during the exposure of the photosensitive unit 11-2, the voltage regulating module 13-1 can adjust the working voltage of the pixel circuit 12-2 to f1=3.6V, so that the pixel circuit 12-2 increases the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit 11-2 according to the working voltage to avoid underexposure of the photosensitive unit. ; During the exposure of the photosensitive unit 11-3, the voltage regulating module 13-3 can adjust the working voltage of the pixel circuit 12-3 to f1=3.6V, so that the pixel circuit 12-3 reduces the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-3 according to the working voltage to avoid overexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-3; During the exposure of the photosensitive unit 11-4, the voltage regulating module 13-3 can adjust the working voltage of the pixel circuit 12-4 to f2=2.9V, so that the pixel circuit 12-4 reduces the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit 11-4 according to the working voltage to avoid overexposure of the photosensitive unit 11-3. In this way, since the working voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor can be differentially adjusted through the voltage regulating module in the image sensor to reduce the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area and increase the photosensitive gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area, the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor can be improved.

[0251] In the exposure method provided in the embodiment of the present application, since N ambient brightness ranges can be determined according to the brightness distribution information of the preview image collected by the image sensor, and each ambient brightness range corresponds to at least one photosensitive unit in the image sensor; and each pixel circuit in the image sensor is connected to a voltage adjustment module and a photosensitive unit, each voltage adjustment module is connected to at least one pixel circuit, and each voltage adjustment module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit according to the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit, therefore, in the process of controlling the exposure of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor, according to the N ambient brightness ranges, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage adjustment module can be differentially adjusted by the voltage adjustment module in the image sensor to correspond to the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit. Therefore, the exposure method provided in the embodiment of the present application can differentially adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor during the exposure process to reduce the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the bright area and increase the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitive unit in the dark area, thereby improving the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of the image sensor.

[0252] In some embodiments of the present application, after the above step 1202, the exposure method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps 1204 to 1206.

[0253] Step 1204: The image processing device outputs the original image corresponding to each photosensitive unit in the image sensor.

[0254] Step 1205: The image processing device performs charge redistribution processing on the original images corresponding to all photosensitive units in the image sensor according to the gain charge amounts corresponding to all photosensitive units in the image sensor and the parasitic capacitance connection relationship to obtain a first image.

[0255] The above-mentioned parasitic capacitance connection relationship may be a connection relationship between parasitic capacitances in a pixel circuit in an image sensor.

[0256] It should be noted that the gain charge amount corresponding to the photosensitive unit is statistically obtained by the photon mapping unit in the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit.

[0257] It can be understood that the original image includes the original image data corresponding to each photosensitive unit in the image sensor. The original image data corresponding to the photosensitive unit can be the image data output by the pixel circuit connected to the photosensitive unit.

[0258] Step 1206: The image processing device performs bit expansion processing on the first image to obtain a second image.

[0259] The second image may include the real image data corresponding to each photosensitive unit, and the gain charge amount corresponding to each photosensitive unit is equal to the charge amount corresponding to the real image data. For example, the gain voltage amount corresponding to a photosensitive unit is a charge, and the real image data corresponding to the photosensitive unit also corresponds to a charge.

[0260] It should be noted that the grayscale value of each pixel in the second image data is adapted to the bit depth of the second image.

[0261] For the description of the bit extension processing, please refer to the relevant description of bit extension in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here to avoid repetition.

[0262] In this way, when some photosensitive units in the image sensor are overexposed, the pixel circuit corresponding to the photosensitive unit can cache the overflowed charge in the parasitic capacitor of at least one other pixel circuit. Therefore, after the image sensor outputs the first image, the voltage overflowed from each parasitic capacitor can be returned to the corresponding photosensitive unit through the connection relationship between the gain voltage recorded by each photon mapping unit in each pixel circuit and the parasitic capacitor, making the image data more realistic, and by performing bit widening processing on the image data, the image corresponding to the image data can be prevented from being overexposed. In this way, the dynamic range of the image can be further improved.

[0263] In some embodiments of the present application, after the above step 1202, the exposure method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following step 1207.

[0264] Step 1207: The image processing apparatus adjusts the amplification factor of the operational amplifier in the voltage regulating module in the image sensor according to the photosensitive charge of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor.

[0265] For the description of step 1207 , refer to the description of adjusting the amplification factor of the operational amplifier in the above embodiment.

[0266] In this way, since the amplification factor of the corresponding operational amplifier can be adjusted according to the photosensitivity voltage of the photosensitive unit, the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit can be matched with the light source environment corresponding to the photosensitive unit, thereby ensuring that the image sensor has a higher dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio.

[0267] The image processing device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device or a component in the electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a terminal or other devices other than a terminal. Exemplarily, the electronic device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a vehicle-mounted electronic device, a mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) / virtual reality (virtualreality, VR) device, a robot, a wearable device, an ultra-mobile personal computer (ultra-mobile personal computer, UMPC), a netbook or a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0268] The image processing device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device having an operating system. The operating system may be an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or other possible operating systems, which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0269] The image processing device provided in the embodiment of the present application can achieve Fig.13 Each process implemented in the method embodiment achieves the same technical effect and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0270] Alternatively, if Fig.15As shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device 1400, including a processor 1401 and a memory 1402, wherein the memory 1402 stores programs or instructions that can be executed on the processor 1401, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor 1401, each step of the above-mentioned exposure method embodiment is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0271] It should be noted that the electronic devices in the embodiments of the present application include the mobile electronic devices and non-mobile electronic devices mentioned above.

[0272] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an electronic device to implement an embodiment of the present application.

[0273] The electronic device 1500 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1501, a network module 1502, an audio output unit 1503, an input unit 1504, a sensor 1505, a display unit 1506, a user input unit 1507, an interface unit 1508, a memory 1509, a processor 1510 and Fig.12 The camera module and other components shown.

[0274] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the electronic device 1500 may also include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to each component, and the power source may be logically connected to the processor 1510 through a power management system, thereby implementing functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. Fig.16 The electronic device structure shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the electronic device. The electronic device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently, which will not be described in detail here.

[0275] Among them, the processor 1510 can be used to:

[0276] Determine N ambient brightness ranges according to the brightness distribution information of the preview image collected by the image sensor, each ambient brightness range corresponds to at least one photosensitive unit in the image sensor, and N may be a positive integer;

[0277] In the process of controlling the exposure of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor, adjusting the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor through the voltage adjustment module in the image sensor according to the N ambient brightness ranges;

[0278] According to the operating voltage of each pixel circuit in the image sensor, the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitivity unit connected to each pixel circuit is determined.

[0279] Among them, each pixel circuit in the image sensor is connected to a voltage regulation module and a photosensitive unit, each voltage regulation module is connected to at least one pixel circuit, and each voltage regulation module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit according to the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit.

[0280] In some embodiments of the present application, each voltage regulating module is used to maintain the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit unchanged when the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit is within the first ambient brightness range; or, the processor 1510 in the image processing device is used to calculate the first voltage based on the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range or the third ambient brightness range; each voltage regulating module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit to the first voltage.

[0281] The first parameter includes at least one of the following: the sensitivity of the image sensor and a second parameter; the second parameter includes at least one of the following: motion information of the image processing device and posture information of the image processing device.

[0282] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1510 is specifically configured to, when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range, calculate the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module according to the formula Calculate the first voltage. Wherein, f(x) represents the first voltage, S represents the sensitivity of the image sensor, a represents a weighting coefficient, and a is determined by the second parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module, T represents the number of photosensitive units of each voltage regulating module, and v represents the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage regulating module when collecting the preview image.

[0283] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1510 is specifically configured to, when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the third ambient brightness range, according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module, according to the formula f(x)=T (S*a)*v, calculate the first voltage. Wherein, f(x) represents the first voltage, S represents the sensitivity of the image sensor, a represents the weighting coefficient, and a is determined by the second parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module, T represents the number of photosensitive units of each voltage regulating module, and v represents the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage regulating module when collecting the preview image.

[0284] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1510, each voltage regulating module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit to the first voltage during the exposure process of each photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module.

[0285] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1510 is further used to: output an original image corresponding to each photosensitive unit in the image sensor; perform charge redistribution processing on the original images corresponding to all photosensitive units in the image sensor according to the gain charge amounts and parasitic capacitance connection relationships corresponding to all photosensitive units in the image sensor to obtain a first image, wherein the parasitic capacitance connection relationship is a connection relationship between parasitic capacitors in a pixel circuit in the image sensor; perform bit expansion processing on the first image to obtain a second image, wherein the second image includes real image data corresponding to each photosensitive unit, and the gain charge amount corresponding to each photosensitive unit is equal to the charge amount corresponding to the real image data.

[0286] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1510 may also be used to adjust the amplification factor of the operational amplifier in the voltage regulation module in the image sensor according to the photosensitivity charge of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor before adjusting the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor through the voltage regulation module in the image sensor according to the N ambient brightness ranges.

[0287] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1504 may include a graphics processor (Graphics Processing Unit, GPU) 15041 and a microphone 15042, and the graphics processor 15041 processes the image data of the static picture or video obtained by the image capture device (such as a camera) in the video capture mode or the image capture mode. The display unit 1506 may include a display panel 15061, and the display panel 15061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1507 includes a touch panel 15071 and at least one of other input devices 15072. The touch panel 15071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 15071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 15072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

[0288] The memory 1509 can be used to store software programs and each type of data. The memory 1509 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, an application program or instructions required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory 1509 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or the memory 1509 may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1509 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0289] The processor 1510 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 1510 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1510.

[0290] An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, each process of the above-mentioned exposure method embodiment is implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0291] The processor is the processor in the electronic device described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0292] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement each process of the above-mentioned exposure method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0293] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0294] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which is stored in a storage medium. The program product is executed by at least one processor to implement each process of the exposure method embodiment described above, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0295] It should be noted that, in this article, the term "comprises", "includes" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that the process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "including one..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the method and device in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and each step may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0296] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for a terminal (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the method described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0297] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. An image sensor, characterized in that: The image sensor comprises: M photosensitive units, M pixel circuits and at least two voltage regulating modules, where M is a positive integer; Each voltage regulating module is connected to at least one pixel circuit among the M pixel circuits, and each pixel circuit is connected to a photosensitive unit; The voltage regulating module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit, and the pixel circuit is used to adjust the photosensitivity gain of the connected photosensitive unit according to the operating voltage.

2. The image sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that The voltage regulating module includes a variable resistor; A first end of the variable resistor is connected to a first power source, and a second end of the variable resistor is connected to the at least one pixel circuit; Wherein, the variable resistor is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit according to the resistance value; The operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to the variable resistor is negatively correlated with the resistance value of the variable resistor.

3. The image sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that The voltage regulation module further includes: an operational amplifier; The first end of the operational amplifier is connected to the first power supply, the second end of the operational amplifier is connected to the photosensitive unit corresponding to the at least one pixel circuit, and the third end of the operational amplifier is connected to the first end of the variable resistor; The operational amplifier is used to adjust the amplification factor of the operational amplifier according to the photosensitive charge of the connected photosensitive unit.

4. The image sensor according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The voltage regulation module also includes: a voltage stabilizing capacitor; The first end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor is connected to the second end of the variable resistor, and the second end of the voltage-stabilizing capacitor is connected to the at least one pixel circuit; The voltage-stabilizing capacitor is used to reduce the rate of change of the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit.

5. The image sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that The pixel circuit includes an integration unit and a parasitic capacitor; The first end of the integration unit is connected to a voltage regulating module, the second end of the integration unit is connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor, and the first end of the parasitic capacitor is also connected to a photosensitive unit, and the second end of the parasitic capacitor is grounded; The integration unit is used for: Determining a gain coefficient of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the integration unit according to the operating voltage and the photosensitive charge of the photosensitive unit corresponding to the integration unit; The photosensitive charge is subjected to gain processing according to the gain coefficient, and the integrated gain charge is transmitted to the parasitic capacitor.

6. The image sensor according to claim 5, characterized in that The pixel circuit also includes a photon mapping unit; The first end of the photon mapping unit is connected to the second end of the integration unit, the second end of the photon mapping unit is connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor, and the photon mapping unit is used to record the gain charge amount of the gain charge transmitted from the integration unit to the parasitic capacitor; The second end of the parasitic capacitor is also connected to the first end of the parasitic capacitor in at least one pixel circuit, and the parasitic capacitor stores overflow charges of the parasitic capacitor through the parasitic capacitor in the at least one pixel circuit.

7. The image sensor according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The pixel circuit also includes a filter capacitor; The first end of the filter capacitor is connected to the voltage regulating module connected to the integration unit, and the second end of the filter capacitor is connected to the photosensitive unit corresponding to the integration unit; The filter capacitor is used to filter out noise in the photosensitive charge of the connected photosensitive unit.

8. A camera module, characterized in that: An image sensor comprising any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An image processing device, characterized in that: Comprising the camera module as claimed in claim 8.

10. An exposure method, executed by the image processing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine N ambient brightness ranges according to brightness distribution information of the preview image collected by the image sensor, each ambient brightness range corresponds to at least one photosensitive unit in the image sensor, and N is a positive integer; In a process of controlling the exposure of a photosensitive unit in the image sensor, adjusting the operating voltage of a pixel circuit in the image sensor through a voltage adjustment module in the image sensor according to the N ambient brightness ranges; Determining the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitivity unit connected to each pixel circuit according to the operating voltage of each pixel circuit in the image sensor; Among them, each pixel circuit in the image sensor is connected to a voltage regulation module and a photosensitive unit, each voltage regulation module is connected to at least one pixel circuit, and each voltage regulation module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit according to the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The step of adjusting the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor by a voltage adjustment module in the image sensor according to the N ambient brightness ranges includes: Each voltage regulating module is used to keep the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit unchanged when the ambient brightness range of the corresponding photosensitive unit is within the first ambient brightness range; Alternatively, the processing module in the image processing device is used to calculate the first voltage according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module when the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range or the third ambient brightness range; each voltage regulating module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the connected pixel circuit to the first voltage; Wherein, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: the sensitivity of the image sensor, the second parameter; The second parameter includes at least one of the following: motion information of the image processing device and posture information of the image processing device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The calculating the first voltage according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module includes: When the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the second ambient brightness range, according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module, according to the formula calculating the first voltage; Among them, f(x) represents the first voltage, S represents the sensitivity of the image sensor, a represents the weighting coefficient, and a is determined by the second parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulation module, T represents the number of photosensitive units of each voltage regulation module, and v represents the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage regulation module during the process of collecting the preview image.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The calculating the first voltage according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module includes: When the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module is within the third ambient brightness range, according to the first parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module, according to the formula f(x)=T (S*a) *v, calculate the first voltage; Among them, f(x) represents the first voltage, S represents the sensitivity of the image sensor, a represents the weighting coefficient, and a is determined by the second parameter and the ambient brightness range of the photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulation module, T represents the number of photosensitive units of each voltage regulation module, and v represents the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each voltage regulation module during the process of collecting the preview image.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that Each voltage regulating module is used to adjust the operating voltage of the pixel circuit connected to each photosensitive unit to the first voltage during the exposure process of each photosensitive unit corresponding to each voltage regulating module.

15. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that After determining the photosensitivity gain of the photosensitivity unit connected to each pixel circuit according to the operating voltage of each pixel circuit in the image sensor, the method further includes: Outputting the original image corresponding to each photosensitive unit in the image sensor; According to the gain charge amounts corresponding to all the photosensitive units in the image sensor and the parasitic capacitance connection relationship, a charge redistribution process is performed on the original images corresponding to the all the photosensitive units to obtain a first image, wherein the parasitic capacitance connection relationship is a connection relationship between parasitic capacitances in a pixel circuit in the image sensor; The first image is bit-expanded to obtain a second image, wherein the second image includes real image data corresponding to each photosensitive unit, and the gain charge corresponding to each photosensitive unit is equal to the charge corresponding to the real image data.

16. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that Before adjusting the operating voltage of the pixel circuit in the image sensor by the voltage adjustment module in the image sensor according to the N ambient brightness ranges, the method further includes: The amplification factor of the operational amplifier in the voltage regulating module in the image sensor is adjusted according to the photosensitive charge of the photosensitive unit in the image sensor.

17. An electronic device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the exposure method according to any one of claims 10 to 16 are implemented.

Images