초록 ▼

An imager may include depth sensing pixels that receive and convert incident light into image signals. The imager may have an associated imaging lens that focuses the incident light onto the imager. Each of the depth sensing pixels may include a microlens that focuses incident light received from th

An imager may include depth sensing pixels that receive and convert incident light into image signals. The imager may have an associated imaging lens that focuses the incident light onto the imager. Each of the depth sensing pixels may include a microlens that focuses incident light received from the imaging lens through a color filter onto first and second photosensitive regions of a substrate. The first and second photosensitive regions may provide different and asymmetrical angular responses to incident light. Depth information for each depth sensing pixel may be determined based on the difference between output signals of the first and second photosensitive regions of that depth sensing pixel. Color information for each depth sensing pixel may be determined from a summation of output signals of the first and second photosensitive regions.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An image sensor comprising: a depth sensing imaging pixel comprising: at least first and second photosensitive regions with respective asymmetric responses to incident light;a microlens that covers the at least first and second photosensitive regions; anda color filter layer that covers the at le

1. An image sensor comprising: a depth sensing imaging pixel comprising: at least first and second photosensitive regions with respective asymmetric responses to incident light;a microlens that covers the at least first and second photosensitive regions; anda color filter layer that covers the at least first and second photosensitive regions, wherein the color filter layer passes incident light of the same color to the at least first and second photosensitive regions; andimage processing circuitry that obtains depth sensing information from the depth sensing imaging pixel by using subtraction to determine a difference between a first image signal output from the first photosensitive region and a second image signal output from the second photosensitive region. 2. The image sensor defined in claim 1 further comprising: a substrate, wherein the at least first and second photosensitive regions are formed in the substrate. 3. The image sensor defined in claim 2 wherein the first and second photosensitive regions are separated by a portion of the substrate. 4. The image sensor defined in claim 3, wherein the depth sensing imaging pixel further comprises: an opaque layer covering the portion of the substrate that separates the first and second photosensitive regions. 5. The image sensor defined in claim 4, wherein the opaque layer is formed from metal that prevents light from passing through to the substrate. 6. The image sensor defined in claim 4, wherein the opaque layer is formed from a dielectric material that prevents light from passing through to the substrate. 7. The image sensor defined in claim 4, wherein the opaque layer directly contacts the substrate. 8. The image sensor defined in claim 4, further comprising: a stack of dielectric layers interposed between the substrate and the microlens, wherein a portion of the stack of dielectric layers is interposed between the substrate and the opaque layer. 9. The image sensor defined in claim 4 wherein the first photosensitive region is adjacent to the second photosensitive region. 10. An image sensor comprising: a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel comprises first and second photosensitive regions having different and asymmetrical angular responses to incident light, and wherein each pixel includes a respective microlens that covers the first and second photosensitive regions;a charge detection node coupled to a first pixel of the plurality of pixels;a readout circuit coupled to the charge detection node, wherein the readout circuit sums signals from the first and second photosensitive regions of the first pixel on the charge detection node in a two-dimensional image capture mode, and wherein the readout circuit sequentially reads out signals from the first and second photosensitive regions in a depth sensing image capture mode; andimage processing circuitry that, in the depth sensing image capture mode, obtains depth sensing information from each pixel by using subtraction to determine a difference between the signal from the first photosensitive region of the respective pixel and the signal from the second photosensitive region of the respective pixel. 11. The image sensor defined in claim 10, wherein the first and second photosensitive regions of the first pixel have respective first and second transfer gates that are coupled to the charge detection node. 12. The image sensor defined in claim 10, wherein the first pixel comprises a color filter layer that covers the first and second photosensitive regions of the first pixel and wherein the color filter layer passes incident light of the same color to the first and second photosensitive regions of the first pixel. 13. An image sensor comprising: a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel comprises first, second, third, and fourth photosensitive regions having different and asymmetrical angular responses to incident light, wherein each pixel includes a respective microlens that covers the first, second, third, and fourth photosensitive regions, and wherein the first, second, third, and fourth photosensitive regions are arranged in a 2×2 pattern;a charge detection node coupled to a subset of the plurality of pixels;a plurality of transfer gates coupled to the charge detection node, wherein each photosensitive region of the subset of the pixels is coupled to a respective transfer gate of the plurality of transfer gates, and wherein each of the transfer gates is configured to transfer charge signals from a respective one of the photosensitive regions in the subset of the pixels to the charge detection node;a readout circuit coupled to the charge detection node, wherein, for at least one pixel of the plurality of pixels, the readout circuit transfers charge signals from two photosensitive regions of the first, second, third, and fourth photosensitive regions to the charge detection node without transferring charge signals from a remaining two photosensitive regions of the first, second, third and fourth photosensitive regions to the charge detection node to form a first combined signal and then transfers charge signals from the remaining two photosensitive regions to the charge detection node without transferring charge signals from the two photosensitive regions to the charge detection node to form a second combined signal; andimage processing circuitry that obtains depth sensing information by using subtraction to determine a difference between the first combined signal and the second combined signal. 14. The image sensor defined in claim 13, wherein the first and second photosensitive regions are positioned in a first row and wherein the first and third photosensitive regions are positioned in a first column. 15. The image sensor defined in claim 14, wherein the readout circuit transfers charge signals from the first and second photosensitive regions to the charge detection node without transferring charge signals from the third and fourth photosensitive regions to the charge detection node. 16. The image sensor defined in claim 14, wherein the readout circuit transfers charge signals from the first and third photosensitive regions to the charge detection node without transferring charge signals from the second and fourth photosensitive regions to the charge detection node. 17. The image sensor defined in claim 13, wherein the readout circuit transfers charge signals from the two photosensitive regions to the charge detection node without transferring charge signals from the remaining two photosensitive regions to the charge detection node in a depth sensing mode. 18. The image sensor defined in claim 17, wherein the readout circuit transfers charge signals from the first, second, third, and fourth photosensitive regions to the charge detection node in a two-dimensional image capture mode. 19. The image sensor defined in claim 1, wherein the image processing circuitry determines the difference between the first image signal output and the second image signal output by subtracting the first image signal output from the second image signal output. 20. The image sensor defined in claim 1, wherein the image processing circuitry determines the difference between the first image signal output and the second image signal output by subtracting the second image signal output from the first image signal output.