A semiconductor apparatus, a solid-state image sensing apparatus, and a camera system capable of reducing interference between signals transmitted through adjacent via holes, preventing an increase in the number of the via holes, reducing the area of a chip having sensors thereon and the number of mounting steps thereof. First and second chips are bonded together to form a laminated structure, a wiring between the first chip and the second chip being connected through via holes, the first chip transmitting signals obtained by time-discretizing analog signals generated by respective sensors to the second chip through the corresponding via holes, the second chip sampling the signals transmitted from the first chip through the via holes at a timing different from a timing at which the signals are sampled by the first chip and quantizing the sampled signals to obtain digital signals.

Semiconductor apparatus, solid-state image sensing apparatus, and camera system

Provided are a comparison device that may minimize an influence of banding noise by offsetting the banding noise, and a CMOS image sensor including the comparison device. The comparison device may include a comparison circuit configured to compare a pixel signal and a ramp signal with each other and output a comparison signal, a banding noise adjustment circuit coupled to the comparison circuit to adjust electrical characteristic values of the comparison circuit, a banding value generation circuit coupled to the banding noise adjustment circuit to provide the banding noise adjustment circuit with a banding value generated based on a setting code value, and a banding noise reduction circuit coupled to the banding noise adjustment circuit and configured to reduce the banding noise of the comparison circuit by adjusting electrical characteristic values of the comparison circuit.

Comparison device and CMOS image sensor using the same

A driver integrated circuit and a display device including the same are disclosed The driver integrated circuit includes a data voltage generator that includes a digital-to-analog converter converting a digital signal into an analog signal, generates an analog data voltage in a display drive operation, and applies the analog data voltage to pixels of a display panel, a sensor that is connected to a sensing channel connected to the pixels of the display panel, shares the digital-to-analog converter with the data voltage generator, converts an analog sensing voltage indicating electrical characteristics of the pixels input from the sensing channel into digital sensing data in a sensing drive operation, and outputs the digital sensing data, and switching elements selectively operating in the display drive operation and the sensing drive operation

Driver integrated circuit and display device including the same

An A/D converter includes an analog input terminal, a successive approximation A/D converter connected to the analog input terminal, the successive approximation A/D converter for generating an upper conversion result at an upper conversion result terminal, the successive approximation A/D converter having an internal D/A converter generating an internal reference voltage at an internal reference voltage terminal, and a delta-sigma A/D converter connected to the analog input terminal and the internal reference voltage terminal, the delta-sigma A/D converter for generating a lower conversion result at a lower conversion result terminal.

A/D converter and sensor device using the same

A read-out circuit of an image sensor includes a ramp signal generator, a bias voltage generator and a conversion circuit. The ramp signal generates a ramp signal that linearly varies at a constant slope. The bias voltage generator generates a bias voltage based on a power supply voltage having a first noise component. The conversion circuit generates a reference voltage based on the bias voltage and the ramp signal, and performs an analog-to-digital conversion on an analog signal from a pixel to generate a digital signal corresponding to the analog signal. The analog signal has second noise component. The bias voltage generator adjusts an alternating current component included in the bias voltage such that a magnitude of a third noise component added to the reference voltage is substantially the same as a magnitude of the second noise component.

Read-out circuits of image sensors and image sensors including the same

An image sensor comprises a first die with an array of pixels and a second die. The first die and second die are stacked together. A first in-pixel part of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) outputs at least one current signal. The first in-pixel part of the ADC is a Differential Transconductance Amplifier includes a first differential input for receiving the analog signal and a second differential input for receiving a reference signal. There is at least one output bus connected between the first in-pixel part of the ADC on the first die and the second part of the ADC on the second die. The first part of the ADC is adapted to output the at least one current signal to the at least one output bus, and the second part of the ADC is adapted to receive the at least one current signal and to generate a digital signal.

Guy Meynants

Papers

In-pixel differential transconductance amplifier for adc and image sensor architecture