A High Dynamic Range High Speed Pixel Operating at 100 Million Frames Per Second

Abstract

The burst imaging concept is a specific imaging method than allows achieving a pixel rate of about 1 Tera pixel per second. This huge data rate can be reached by storing the video frames within the sensor, thus circumventing the bottleneck of the input/output of the sensor. Consequently, a frame rate of several Mega frames per second (Mfps) can be obtained and the use of a fast pixel front end is mandatory. In this paper, a pixel front able to operate at a frame rate of 100 Mfps is proposed. Based on a current mirroring integration approach, it offers a high dynamic range feature compatible with the record of the very fast moving object without blurring effect. The feature is carried out by mirroring in parallel the photocurrent into several integration capacitances. The pixel consumption is as low as 12 µW for one single gain branch at 10 Mfps and 118 µW at a frame rate of 100 Mpfs.