Samsung patents circuit design for single-photon sensors
Samsung has been granted a patent for an output circuit designed to work with single-photon avalanche diodes, which are sensors capable of detecting very low levels of light. The design uses specific pull-up and pull-down circuits connected to a shared bus line to manage signals from the sensing element, with the pull-up element having a lower drive strength than the pull-down circuit.
In the filing’s own words
An output circuit for a single-photon avalanche diode. In some embodiments, a system includes: a first sensing element; a bus line; a first pull-down circuit; a first pull-up element; and a second pull-up element, the first pull-up element, the second pull-up element, and the first pull-down circuit being connected to the bus line, the first pull-down circuit being connected to the first sensing element and configured to be activated based on a signal from the first sensing element, the first pull-up element having a lower drive strength than the first pull-down circuit.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A system, comprising: a first sensing element; a bus line; a first pull-down circuit; a first pull-up element; and a second pull-up element, the first pull-up element, the second pull-up element, and the first pull-down circuit being connected to the bus line, the first pull-down circuit being connected to the first sensing element and configured to be activated based on a signal from the first sensing element, the first pull-up element having a lower drive strength than the first pull-down circuit.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- Output circuit for SPAD
- Patent number
- US12733293B2
- Application number
- 18477480
- Filed
- Sep 28, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 8, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 18
Classified under
H10F 77/959 Electricity & electronicsH10F 30/225 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/18 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/8037 Electricity & electronicsH10F 39/811 Electricity & electronicsMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.