US 11,902,685 B1
Pixel sensor having hierarchical memory
Tsung-Hsun Tsai, Redmond, WA (US); Song Chen, Redmond, WA (US); and Xinqiao Liu, Medina, WA (US)
Assigned to Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC, Menlo Park, CA (US)
Filed by Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC, Menlo Park, CA (US)
Filed on Apr. 27, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/242,152.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/016,473, filed on Apr. 28, 2020.
Int. Cl. H04N 5/335 (2011.01); H04N 25/63 (2023.01); H04N 25/772 (2023.01); H04N 25/75 (2023.01)
CPC H04N 25/772 (2023.01) [H04N 25/63 (2023.01); H04N 25/75 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
20. A method comprising:
generating, using a photodiode of each pixel cell of an array of pixel cells, a charge in response to incident light;
generating, using a charge sensing unit of each pixel cell of the array of pixel cells and based on the charge, a voltage;
generating, using a quantizer, a digital output for each pixel cell based on quantizing the voltage output by the charge sensing unit of the pixel cell;
storing, at an in-pixel memory of each pixel cell of the array of pixel cells, the digital output for the respective pixel cell;
receiving, by an off-array frame memory via a set of parallel interconnects, the digital outputs from the in-pixel memory of each pixel cell of the array of pixel cells;
storing the digital outputs in the frame memory; and
transmitting, via a bus interface, the digital outputs from the frame memory to a host device.