A CMOS Image Sensor with row and column profiling means

This paper describes the implementation and first measurement results of a new way that obtains row and column profile data from a CMOS Image Sensor, which is developed for a micro-Digital Sun Sensor (μDSS).The basic profiling action is achieved by the pixels with p-type MOS transistors which realize a so-called “Winner Takes It All (WTIA) [1][2]” principle. The WTIA implementation improves the μDSS system greatly on speed and power consumption. In this way the sensor is ideally suited for a digital sun sensor intended for astronomy applications.