US 11,864,876 B2
Light-to-digital converter
Qiuyang Lin, Eindhoven (NL); Jiawei Xu, Eindhoven (NL); Shuang Song, Eindhoven (NL); Nick Van Helleputte, Korbeek-Dijle (BE); and Filip Tavernier, Leuven (BE)
Assigned to IMEC VZW, Leuven (BE); KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN KU LEUVEN, Leuven (BE); and STICHTING IMEC NEDERLAND, AE Eindhoven (NL)
Filed by IMEC VZW, Leuven (BE); Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven (BE); and Stichting IMEC Nederland
Filed on May 28, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/886,714.
Claims priority of application No. 19177264 (EP), filed on May 29, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0375484 A1, Dec. 3, 2020
Int. Cl. A61B 5/024 (2006.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01); G01J 1/44 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 5/02427 (2013.01) [A61B 5/0042 (2013.01); A61B 5/0075 (2013.01); A61B 5/6826 (2013.01); G01J 1/44 (2013.01); G01J 2001/446 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A light-to-digital converter, comprising:
a light-to-current converter;
a current integrator with an integrator output resettable to a baseline value;
and a counter with a digital output, wherein:
said light-to-current converter is arranged to be connected as a positive integration input to said current integrator during a light-collecting phase, said current integrator integrating a current resulting from light-to-current conversion at said light-to-current converter, said integrator output starting from said baseline value and ending at a value to be digitized;
a reference current source is arranged to be connected as a negative integration input to said current integrator during a counting phase subsequent to said light-collecting phase, integrating a reference current from said reference current source, said integrator output starting from said value to be digitized and ending at said baseline value, a time spent integrating said reference current corresponding to said value to be digitized; and
said counter is configured for measuring said time and outputting a count corresponding to said value to be digitized.