US 11,956,557 B1
Pixel architecture with high dynamic range
Xianmin Yi, Menlo Park, CA (US); and Alexander Lu, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to BAE Systems Imaging Solutions Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by BAE Systems Imaging Solutions Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 17, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/967,021.
Int. Cl. H04N 25/59 (2023.01); H04N 25/63 (2023.01); H04N 25/71 (2023.01); H04N 25/74 (2023.01); H04N 25/75 (2023.01); H04N 25/77 (2023.01)
CPC H04N 25/59 (2023.01) [H04N 25/71 (2023.01); H04N 25/74 (2023.01); H04N 25/75 (2023.01); H04N 25/77 (2023.01); H04N 25/63 (2023.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A charge coupled device (CCD), comprising:
a plurality of pixels, wherein at least one pixel of the plurality of pixels comprises
a photodetector;
a transfer gate coupled to an output of the photodetector; and
a gain mode select block coupled to an output of the transfer gate, wherein the gain mode select block comprises
a first switch coupled between a first node and a second node, the first node coupled to a first capacitor and the second node coupled to a second capacitor, and
a second switch coupled between the second node and a third node, the third node coupled to a third capacitor, wherein the third capacitor has a higher capacitance than the second capacitor, and the second capacitor has a higher capacitance than the first capacitor.