Samsung patents image sensor method to read light signals
Samsung describes a way to operate an image sensor by switching voltages on a specific transistor to reset and read light data. This process helps the sensor capture images by managing how electrical signals are transferred from the light-sensitive parts.
In the filing’s own words
A method of operating an image sensor includes alternately supplying a first voltage and a second voltage to a first source/drain terminal of a source-follower transistor, wherein a gate electrode of the source-follower transistor is connected to a first floating diffusion node. The alternately supplying of the first voltage and the second voltage includes supplying the second voltage to the first source/drain terminal, resetting the first floating diffusion node to a reset voltage, blocking the supplying of the second voltage and supplying the first voltage to the first source/drain terminal, transmitting a first signal of a first photodiode to the first floating diffusion node, sensing a first signal of the first floating diffusion node through the source-follower transistor, and blocking the supplying of the first voltage to the first source/drain terminal and supplying the second voltage to the first source/drain terminal.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method of operating an image sensor, the method comprising: alternately supplying a first voltage and a second voltage to a first source/drain terminal of a source-follower transistor, wherein a gate electrode of the source-follower transistor is connected to a first floating diffusion node, and wherein the alternately supplying of the first voltage and the second voltage includes: supplying the second voltage to the first source/drain terminal of the source-follower transistor; resetting the first floating diffusion node to a reset voltage; blocking the supplying of the second voltage and supplying the first voltage to the first source/drain terminal of the source-follower transistor; transmitting a first signal of a first photodiode to the first floating diffusion node; sensing a first signal of the first floating diffusion node through the source-follower transistor; and blocking the supplying of the first voltage to the first source/drain terminal of the source-follower transistor and supplying the second voltage to the first source/drain terminal of the source-follower transistor.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- IMAGE SENSOR, OPERATING METHOD OF IMAGE SENSOR AND CAMERA MODULE INCLUDING IMAGE SENSOR
- Publication number
- US20260303991A1
- Application number
- 19576265
- Filed
- Mar 24, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04N 25/68 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/65 Electricity & electronicsMore from Samsung in Cameras & imaging
- Samsung patents syncing multiple cameras to record one video Sep 1, 2026
- Samsung patents camera system that auto-picks best lens for video Oct 13, 2026
- Samsung patents camera design that bends light to fit in thinner phones Oct 20, 2026
- Samsung patents camera feature that saves video clips around photos Sep 10, 2026
- Samsung patents image sensor that captures depth and bright scenes Sep 24, 2026
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.