MESA IMAGING AG Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20150358601 | Optical Filter on Objective Lens for 3D Cameras - An optical bandpass filter for background light suppression in a three-dimensional time of flight camera is added on one of the lens surfaces inside the objective lens system. | 12-10-2015 |
20140218570 | Signal Simulation Apparatus and Method - The present invention relates to a method of simulating an initial component of a signal to approximate a component of a reference signal, the method characterized by the steps of:
| 08-07-2014 |
20140203389 | Solid-State Photodetector Pixel and Photodetecting Method - A pixel is formed in a semiconductor substrate (S) with a plane surface for use in a photodetector. It comprises an active region for converting incident light (In) into charge carriers, photogates (PGL, PGM, PGR) for generating a lateral electric potential (Φ(x)) across the active region, and an integration gate (IG) for storing charge carriers generated in the active region and a dump site (Ddiff). The pixel further comprises separation-enhancing means (SL) for additionally enhancing charge separation in the active region and charge transport from the active region to the integration gate (IG). The separation-enhancing means (SL) are for instance a shield layer designed such that for a given lateral electric potential (Φ(x)), the incident light (In) does not impinge on the section from which the charge carriers would not be transported to the integration gate (IG). | 07-24-2014 |
20130148102 | Method to Compensate for Errors in Time-of-Flight Range Cameras Caused by Multiple Reflections - Due to their parallel illumination and acquisition for all the pixels, today's state-of-the-art time-of-flight (TOF) range cameras suffer from erroneous measurements caused by multiple reflections in the scene. The invention proposes to compensate for the multi-path fusing the results obtained by applying two spatially different illumination schemes, typically one to achieve highest possible lateral resolution and for the second one structuring the emitted light and by doing so lowering the lateral resolution but limiting the impact of multiple reflections. | 06-13-2013 |
20130140433 | Sensor Pixel Array and Separated Array of Storage and Accumulation with Parallel Acquisition and Readout - A demodulation image sensor, such as used in time of flight (TOF) cameras, performs the acquisition and readout of the pixels in parallel. This is used to avoid motion artifacts due to samplings performed separated in time. | 06-06-2013 |
20120098964 | System and Method for Multi TOF Camera Operation Using Phase Hopping - A modulation technique for 3D time-of-flight (TOF) cameras allows the operation of fully autonomous operated 3D TOF cameras. The method subdivides the exposure time into several sub-exposure intervals, for which the signal control unit adds a preferably pseudo-random common phase delay to the illumination and the sensor. | 04-26-2012 |
20120033045 | Multi-Path Compensation Using Multiple Modulation Frequencies in Time of Flight Sensor - A method to compensate for multi-path in time-of-flight (TOF) three dimensional (3D) cameras applies different modulation frequencies in order to calculate/estimate the error vector. Multi-path in 3D TOF cameras might be caused by one of the two following sources: stray light artifacts in the TOF camera systems and multiple reflections in the scene. The proposed method compensates for the errors caused by both sources by implementing multiple modulation frequencies. | 02-09-2012 |
20110299059 | Multi-Level Digital Modulation for Time of Flight Method and System - The modulation scheme disclosed in this invention report allows for utilizing multiple 3D time-of-flight cameras at the same time by exploiting the inherent pseudo noise properties of the optical modulation signals. Compared to recent systems based on pure pseudo noise modulation signals, the stochastic measurement error in a single-camera environment is significantly reduced. The basic concept relies on the generation of a three level optical modulation signal that includes two pseudo noise sequences. | 12-08-2011 |
20110273561 | Multistage Demodulation Pixel and Method - A demodulation structure for a n-tap pixel, mainly for 3D time-of-flight (TOF) applications uses a 2-stage switch structure for demodulating a modulated electromagnetic wave. An almost arbitrary number of storage sites per pixel can be implemented enabling an almost arbitrary number of samplings captured during one exposure. It also provides the option to demodulate and integrate different phasing samples according to the different modulation frequencies within the same exposure. | 11-10-2011 |
20110164132 | Demodulation Sensor with Separate Pixel and Storage Arrays - A demodulation image sensor, such as used in time of flight (TOF) cameras, extracts all storage- and post-processing-related steps from the pixels to another array of storage and processing elements (proxels) on the chip. The pixel array has the task of photo-detection, first processing and intermediate storage, while the array of storage and processing elements provides further processing and enhanced storage capabilities for each pixel individually. The architecture can be used to address problems due to the down-scaling of the pixel size. Typically, either the photo-sensitivity or the signal storage capacitance suffers significantly. Both a lower sensitivity and smaller storage capacitances have negative influence on the image quality. The disclosed architecture allows for keeping the storage capacitance unaffected by the pixel down-scaling. In addition to that, it provides a high degree of flexibility in integrating more intelligence into the image sensor design already on the level of the pixel array. In particular, if applied to demodulation pixels, the flexibility of the architecture allows for integrating on sensor-level concepts for multi-tap sampling, mismatch compensation, background suppression and so on, without any requirement to adjust the particular demodulation pixel architecture. | 07-07-2011 |
20110149071 | Stray Light Compensation Method and System for Time of Flight Camera Systems - A method and system to compensate for stray light errors in time of flight (TOF) camera systems uses reference targets in the in the field of view (FOV) that can be used to measure stray light. In different embodiments, one or more reference targets are used. | 06-23-2011 |
20110114821 | 3D CCD-Style Imaging Sensor with Rolling Readout - The presented readout structure provides charge transport based readout of a photosensitive device with a minimum number of transport gates. The structure uses the given charge storage buckets of the photosensitive device, separated by a minimum sized barrier-gate, to transport the charge out of the pixel field. This new readout schema allows for a fast readout speed based on a 2 phase transport chain and increases the pixel's optical fill factor by significantly reducing the transport gate size compared to state-of-the-art pixels using a 3 or 4 phase CCD readout chain. This readout structure can be exploited for standard photo-detecting elements such as e.g. pinned photo-diodes or any enhanced pixel structure that has additional intelligence incorporated as well. Typical applications are 2D- or 3D-imaging. The process used for manufacturing a sensor with such a readout scheme requires preferably charge transport mechanisms like charge-coupled gate devices as well as the possibility of integrating circuitries of high density. The exploitation of such a combination of process-related features results in a new sensor readout technique that allows for optimizing the pixel's dynamic range and optical fill factor. | 05-19-2011 |
20110101241 | Solid-State Photodetector Pixel and Photodetecting Method - A pixel is formed in a semiconductor substrate (S) with a plane surface for use in a photodetector. It comprises an active region for converting incident light (In) into charge carriers, photogates (PGL, PGM, PGR) for generating a lateral electric potential (Φ(x)) across the active region, and an integration gate (IG) for storing charge carriers generated in the active region and a dump site (Ddiff). The pixel further comprises separation-enhancing means (SL) for additionally enhancing charge separation in the active region and charge transport from the active region to the integration gate (IG). The separation-enhancing means (SL) are for instance a shield layer designed such that for a given lateral electric potential (Φ(x)), the incident light (In) does not impinge on the section from which the charge carriers would not be transported to the integration gate (IG). | 05-05-2011 |
20110101206 | Device and Method for the Demodulation of Modulated Electromagnetic Wave Fields - A new pixel in semiconductor technology comprises a photo-sensitive detection region ( | 05-05-2011 |
20110089471 | Demodulation Pixel Incorporating Majority Carrier Current, Buried Channel and High-Low Junction - A demodulation pixel improves the charge transport speed and sensitivity by exploiting two effects of charge transport in silicon in order to achieve the before-mentioned optimization. The first one is a transport method based on the CCD gate principle. However, this is not limited to CCD technology, but can be realized also in CMOS technology. The charge transport in a surface or even a buried channel close to the surface is highly efficient in terms of speed, sensitivity and low trapping noise. In addition, by activating a majority carrier current flowing through the substrate, another drift field is generated below the depleted CCD channel. This drift field is located deeply in the substrate, acting as an efficient separator for deeply photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Thus, another large amount of minority carriers is transported to the diffusion nodes at high speed and detected. | 04-21-2011 |
20110025843 | Time of Flight Camera with Rectangular Field of Illumination - Improved field-of-illumination (FOI) and field-of-view (FOV) matching for | 02-03-2011 |
20100308209 | System for Charge-Domain Electron Subtraction in Demodulation Pixels and Method Therefor - A method and system enable the subtraction of charge carrier packages in the low-noise charge domain, which is particularly interesting for the operation of demodulation pixels when high background light signals are present. The method comprises the following steps: demodulation of an optical signal and integration of the photo-generated charge carriers; charge transfer to an external capacitance. The second step means a recombination of electrons and holes in the charge domain and an influencing of the opposite charge carriers on the second plate of the capacitance. This approach allows for low-noise subtraction of charge packages in the charge domain and, at the same time, for creating pixels with much higher fill factors because the capacitances can be optimized for storing just the differential parts, without the DC component. | 12-09-2010 |
20100193666 | Image Sensor with Large-Area, High-Sensitivity and High-Speed Pixels - The pixel for use in an image sensor comprises a low-doped semiconductor substrate (A). On the substrate (A), an arrangement of a plurality of floating areas, e.g., floating gates (FG | 08-05-2010 |
20100053405 | Demodulation Pixel with Daisy Chain Charge Storage Sites and Method of Operation Therefor - A demodulation pixel architecture allows for demodulating an incoming modulated electromagnetic wave, normally visible or infrared light. It is based on a charge coupled device (CCD) line connected to a drift field structure. The drift field is exposed to the incoming light. It collects the generated charge and forces it to move to the pick-up point. At this pick-up point, the CCD element samples the charge for a given time and then shifts the charge packets further on in the daisy chain. After a certain amount of shifts, the multiple charge packets are stored in so-called integration gates, in a preferred embodiment. The number of integration gates gives the number of simultaneously available taps. When the cycle is repeated several times, the charge is accumulated in the integration gates and thus the signal-to-noise ratio increases. The architecture is flexible in the number of taps. A dump node can be attached to the CCD line for dumping charge with the same speed as the samples are taken. Different implementations are described herein, which allow for smaller design or faster speed. The pixel structure can be exploited for e.g. 3D time-of-flight imaging. Both heterodyne and homodyne measurements are possible. Due to the highly-efficient charge transport enabled by static drift fields in the photo-sensitive region and small-sized gates in the CCD chain, high frequency bandwidth from just a few Hertz (Hz) up to greater GHz is supported. Thus, the pixel allows for highly-accurate optical distance measurements. Another possible application of this pixel architecture is fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), where short laser pulses for triggering the fluorescence have to be suppressed. | 03-04-2010 |
20090190007 | Adaptive Neighborhood Filtering (ANF) System and Method for 3D Time of Flight Cameras - A method for filtering distance information from a 3D-measurement camera system comprises comparing amplitude and/or distance information for pixels to adjacent pixels and averaging distance information for the pixels with the adjacent pixels when amplitude and/or distance information for the pixels is within a range of the amplitudes and/or distances for the adjacent pixels. In addition to that the range of distances may or may not be defined as a function depending on the amplitudes. | 07-30-2009 |
20090173874 | Optoelectronic Detector with Multiple Readout Nodes and Its Use Thereof - The present invention discloses an optoelectronic detector for light sensing. The optoelectronic detector has a photosensitive element that converts light into electrons. Efficient collection of these electrons at readout nodes, embedded in the photosensitive element, is required to make correct measurements of light characteristics such as, phase shift and intensity. This collection of electrons is achieved by applying a voltage gradient across an electrode within the optoelectronic detector. The optoelectronic detector can have multiple readout nodes. Further, the present invention discloses methods for detecting intensity and phase shift of impinging light and for suppression of background illumination while detecting the characteristics of light. | 07-09-2009 |
20090121308 | IMAGE SENSING DEVICE AND METHOD OF - A two-dimensional, temporally modulated electromagnetic wavefield, preferably in the ultraviolet, visible or infrared spectral range, can be locally detected and demodulated with one or more sensing elements. Each sensing element consists of a resistive, transparent electrode (E) on top of an insulated layer (O) that is produced over a semiconducting substrate whose surface is electrically kept in depletion. The electrode (E) is connected with two or more contacts (C | 05-14-2009 |
20090021617 | On-chip time-based digital conversion of pixel outputs - An integrated sensor chip comprises at least one pixel. The at least one pixel comprises: one or several integration regions for receiving and storing photogenerated charges; a modulation region that moves the photogenerated charges to be stored in the at least two integration regions; and sense nodes, in which each of the sense nodes is associated with one of the integration regions, into which the photogenerated charges are moved from the integration regions during a readout stage. The chip comprises: at least one function generator for generating a time-varying function that is applied to the integration regions during the readout cycle to move the photogenerated changes to the sense nodes; a counter generates a count during the generation of the time-varying function; and registers, in which each of the registers is associated with one of the sense nodes during read out, for storing digital values; wherein the registers store the count in response to the associated sense node receiving photogenerated charges from the associated integration regions. | 01-22-2009 |
20090020687 | Reference Pixel Array with Varying Sensitivities for TOF Sensor - The sensitivity of a reference pixel array RPA to the reference modulated light MLR is varied for different reference pixels RP of the reference pixel array RPA. In one embodiment the different sensitivities of the reference pixels RP in the RPA is achieved by designing the pixels to have different light sensitivities with respect to each other. In another embodiment, the different sensitivities are achieved by changing optical coupling between the separate reference pixels RP of the reference pixel array RPA to the reference modulated light MLR such as by changing how the different reference pixels RP couple to the aperture LGA of the light guide LG. | 01-22-2009 |
20080247033 | Device and Method for the Demodulation of Modulated Electric Signals - A demodulation device ( | 10-09-2008 |
20080239466 | Device and Method for the Demodulation Electromagnetic Wave Fields - A new pixel in semiconductor technology comprises a photo-sensitive detection region ( | 10-02-2008 |