A high dynamic range pixel using lateral overflow integration capacitor and adaptive feedback structure in CMOS image sensors

Abstract

This letter proposes a novel high dynamic range (HDR) pixel using lateral overflow integration capacitor (LOFIC) and adaptive feedback structure. Through detailed analysis of the voltage feedback mechanism, the conversion gain (CG), full well capacity (FWC) and dynamic range (DR) performances of the feedback LOFIC pixel are analytically expressed. The verification results reveal that the equivalent FWC of the feedback LOFIC pixel is 1.89 times of conventional LOFIC pixel, and the DR extension is 5.5 dB. Based on 110 nm CMOS process, a 5.0 µm pixel layout is presented, using 13.3 fF capacitance to achieve 83 ke- FWC and 102.8 dB DR, which are 44 ke- and 97.3 dB of conventional LOFIC pixel under the same design conditions. This also demonstrates that the feedback LOFIC pixel can reduce the dependence of extended DR on capacitor area, and can be used as a reference for HDR pixels design.