A 100-dB-DR Predictive-Integration CMOS Image Sensor for Laser Rangefinding

A CMOS image sensor for laser-spot detection in an optical triangulation-based 3-D vision system is presented in this paper. Two aligned linear arrays, namely, a high-dynamic-range (DR) array and a winner-take-all array, independently perform DR enhancement and region-of-interest control. A new predictive integration scheme is suggested to find the adaptive integration time without searching all possible subintegration periods. It has been demonstrated that the DR of the chip (typically ~50 dB in the 0.18-mum digital process used) can be enhanced to 100 dB with six subintegration periods.