Current-mode CMOS hybrid image sensor
Abstract
Digital imaging is growing rapidly making Complimentary Metal-Oxide-Semi
conductor (CMOS) image sensor-based cameras indispensable in many modern life devices
like cell phones, surveillance devices, personal computers, and tablets. For various
purposes wireless portable image systems are widely deployed in many indoor and outdoor
places such as hospitals, urban areas, streets, highways, forests, mountains, and
towers. However, the increased demand on high-resolution image sensors and improved
processing features is expected to increase the power consumption of the CMOS sensorbased
camera systems. Increased power consumption translates into a reduced battery
life-time. The increased power consumption might not be a problem if there is access to
a nearby charging station. On the other hand, the problem arises if the image sensor is
located in widely spread areas, unfavorable to human intervention, and difficult to reach.
Given the limitation of energy sources available for wireless CMOS image sensor, an energy
harvesting technique presents a viable solution to extend the sensor life-time. Energy can be harvested from the sun light or the artificial light surrounding the sensor itself. In this thesis, we propose a current-mode CMOS hybrid image sensor capable of
energy harvesting and image capture. The proposed sensor is based on a hybrid pixel that
can be programmed to perform the task of an image sensor and the task of a solar cell to
harvest energy. The basic idea is to design a pixel that can be configured to exploit its
internal photodiode to perform two functions: image sensing and energy harvesting. As
a proof of concept a 40 x 40 array of hybrid pixels has been designed and fabricated in a
standard 0.5 µm CMOS process. Measurement results show that up to 39 µW of power
can be harvested from the array under 130 Klux condition with an energy efficiency of
220 nJ /pixel /frame. The proposed image sensor is a current-mode image sensor which
has several advantages over the voltage-mode. The most important advantages of using
current-mode technique are: reduced power consumption of the chip, ease of arithmetic
operations implementation, simplification of the circuit design and hence reduced layout
complexity.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Background and overview -- A Current-mode CMOS hybrid image sensor -- Measurements and results -- Conclusion and future work -- Appendix A. The current-mode CMOS hybrid image sensor chip components and pinout
Degree
M.S.