A 24x6 interlaced-scan MOS image sensor

A new 24/spl times/6 self-scanned MOS image sensor has been developed for the Optacon reading aid for the blind. This new image sensor has a unique circuit design that provides in a simple manner interlaced row scanning and low-light level detection. While a previous investigation (1969) showed that self-scanned MOS image sensors are capable of operating with illumination levels of 1 /spl mu/W/cm/SUP 2/, this report presents a working circuit to simply realize this performance in a device compatible with a reading aid application. The previous investigation also did not consider the noise at high-scanning frequencies (175 kHz) associated with package interconnection capacitances. This new circuit attempts to minimize this previously neglected switching noise.