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Samsung patents image sensor design that shares filters across sub-pixels

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Samsung has filed a patent for an image sensor where multiple small light-collecting units, called sub-pixels, share a single color filter and lens. The design uses specific electrical signals to control these shared components, allowing the sensor to process light from different parts of the array in a coordinated way.

Why it mattersThis technical adjustment aims to improve how camera sensors capture light, which could lead to better photo quality in future phones or other devices.

In the filing’s own words

An image sensor includes a pixel array including a first pixel including first to fourth sub-pixels and a second pixel including fifth to eighth sub-pixels, and a row driver configured to provide first to fourth transfer gate signals to the first to fourth sub-pixels via first to fourth transmission lines. The first to fourth sub-pixels are configured to share a first-color color filter and a first microlens, the fifth to eighth sub-pixels are configured to share a second-color color filter and a second microlens, the first sub-pixel and the sixth sub-pixel are configured to receive the first transfer gate signal, the second sub-pixel and the fifth sub-pixel are configured to receive the second transfer gate signal, the third sub-pixel and the seventh sub-pixels are configured to receive the third transfer gate signal, and the fourth sub-pixel and the eighth sub-pixel are configured to receive the fourth transfer gate signal.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An image sensor comprising: a pixel array including a first pixel comprising first to fourth sub-pixels arranged in a clockwise direction and a second pixel comprising fifth to eighth sub-pixels arranged in the clockwise direction; and a row driver configured to provide first to fourth transfer gate signals to the first to fourth sub-pixels via first to fourth transmission lines, wherein the first to fourth sub-pixels are configured to share a first-color color filter and a first microlens, wherein the fifth to eighth sub-pixels are configured to share a second-color color filter and a second microlens, wherein the first-color is the same as the second-color, wherein the first sub-pixel and the sixth sub-pixel are configured to receive the first transfer gate signal via the first transmission line, wherein the second sub-pixel and the fifth sub-pixel are configured to receive the second transfer gate signal via the second transmission line, wherein the third sub-pixel and the seventh sub-pixels are configured to receive the third transfer gate signal via the third transmission line, and wherein the fourth sub-pixel and the eighth sub-pixel are configured to receive the fourth transfer gate signal via the fourth transmission line.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
IMAGE SENSOR INCLUDING PIXEL CIRCUIT, METHOD OF OPERATING IMAGE SENSOR, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING IMAGE SENSOR
Publication number
US20260313247A1
Application number
19413880
Filed
Dec 9, 2025
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
20

Classified under

H04N 25/134 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/40 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/78 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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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.