Integrated Image Sensor Package With On-Chip Light Source Driver
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of a light source into mobile computing systems for time-of-flight imaging poses design challenges related to cost, packaging, and power consumption, as traditional approaches require separate components for image capture and depth sensing.
Innovation Solution
An integrated semiconductor package that combines an image sensor and a light source driver, including visible light and depth pixels, which generates a drive signal for the light source and digitizes analog depth profile information, addressing the challenges by consolidating necessary components into a single package.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate components are used for image capture and depth sensing, then functional reliability is improved, but device complexity and packaging difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the image sensor and light source driver into a single integrated semiconductor package. The image sensor includes both visible light pixels for 2D imaging and depth pixels for 3D time-of-flight sensing, while the light source driver generates drive signals for the light source. This merging eliminates the need for separate components and their complex packaging, directly resolving the contradiction between functional reliability and packaging complexity.
2Device complexity
If multiple separate components are integrated into a single package, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated package is segmented into distinct functional regions: visible light pixel array, depth pixel array, light source driver circuit, and analog-to-digital converter. Each segment performs its specific function independently, which simplifies the manufacturing process by allowing modular integration rather than requiring precise integration of all components simultaneously. This segmentation reduces the overall manufacturing precision requirements while achieving the goal of reduced device complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional separate component approach is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but cost and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the image sensor and light source driver into a single integrated package with shared power supply and control circuits, the total power consumption is reduced compared to separate components. The integration allows for optimized power distribution and reduced idle power consumption, while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardized semiconductor fabrication processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is described that includes an image sensor and a light source driver circuit integrated in a same semiconductor chip package. The image sensor includes visible light pixels and depth pixels. The depth pixels are to sense light generated with a light source drive signal. The light source drive signal is generated with the light source driver circuit.