A 1/3-in interline transfer CCD image sensor with a negative-feedback-type charge detector

The authors describe an interline transfer charge coupled device (CCD) area image sensor with 94-dB dynamic range and 1.0-electron RMS noise charge detector. With a new capacitance-coupled negative-feedback configuration, the saturation level of the detector is successfully extended by a factor of five, maintaining the superior low-noise characteristics. The imager with this detector has 398 (H)*492 (V) pixels in 1/3-in format image size. Moreover, 1/f noise in the output signal is successfully suppressed with a new alternate gain inversion (AGI) signal processing.<
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