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Samsung patents image sensor that fixes motion blur using internal counters

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

This filing describes a camera sensor that uses a special light detector called an avalanche photodiode to count individual light particles during short exposure bursts. It then compares these short bursts to a reference image to calculate how much the scene moved, adjusting the final picture to reduce blur caused by movement.

Why it mattersThis technology could lead to sharper photos in low light or of moving subjects by correcting for motion directly inside the camera chip.

In the filing’s own words

An image sensor includes an avalanche photodiode including an anode and a cathode, a charging circuit configured to recharge the anode or the cathode once per unit exposure time, an in-pixel counter configured to count a pulse signal, an intermediate image generator configured to generate a plurality of intermediate images by accumulating, over a plurality of unit exposure times, values counted by the in-pixel counter, and a frame image generator configured to calculate, by using one of the plurality of intermediate images generated in a time series as a reference intermediate image, a difference vector for each pixel with respect to the reference intermediate image for each of at least one non-reference intermediate image other than the reference intermediate image, and generate a frame image by adding, to the reference intermediate image, the at least one non-reference intermediate image corrected based on difference vectors corresponding to each pixel.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An image sensor comprising: an avalanche photodiode including an anode and a cathode; a charging circuit configured to recharge the anode or the cathode once per unit exposure time; a gating circuit configured to generate a pulse signal based on an output of the avalanche photodiode at a plurality of timings within the unit exposure time; an in-pixel counter configured to count the pulse signal; an intermediate image generator configured to generate a plurality of intermediate images by accumulating, over a plurality of unit exposure times, values counted by the in-pixel counter; and a frame image generator configured to calculate, by using an intermediate image of the plurality of intermediate images generated in a time series as a reference intermediate image, a difference vector for each pixel with respect to the reference intermediate image for each of at least one non-reference intermediate image other than the reference intermediate image, and generate a frame image by adding, to the reference intermediate image, the at least one non-reference intermediate image corrected based on difference vectors corresponding to each pixel.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
IMAGE SENSOR INCLUDING AVALANCHE PHOTODIODE
Publication number
US20260313265A1
Application number
19638514
Filed
Apr 3, 2026
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

H04N 25/773 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.