A Wide Dynamic Range CMOS Image Sensor with Gated Charge Storage and a Multiple Sampling Technique

A wide dynamic range CMOS image sensor which has a photodiode and a gated storage diode in each pixel is proposed. The storage diode outputs with short accumulation time are read out for multiple times, and the photodiode output and the multiple-sampled storage diode outputs are synthesized in an external system. A separation gate is used to control the charge flow to the storage diode. The proposed technique allows very wide dynamic range imaging with less motion artifact. The operation of the proposed pixel device structure is simulated and an experimental CMOS image sensor is implemented in 0.18 mum CMOS image sensor technology.