A Low-Noise High Intrascene Dynamic Range CMOS Image Sensor With a 13 to 19b Variable-Resolution Column-Parallel Folding-Integration/Cyclic ADC

A low temporal noise and high dynamic range CMOS image sensor is developed. A 1Mpixel CMOS image sensor with column-parallel folding-integration and cyclic ADCs has 80 mu V-rms (1.2e(-)) temporal noise, 82 dB dynamic range using 64 samplings in the folding-integration ADC mode. Very high variable gray-scale resolution of 13b through 19b is attained by changing the number of samplings of pixel outputs. The implemented CMOS image sensor using a 0.18-mu m technology has the sensitivity of 10-V/lx . s, the conversion gain of 67-mu V/e(-), and linear digital code range of more than 4 decades.