CMOS Binary Image Sensor with Gate/Body-Tied PMOSFET-Type Photodetector for Low-Power and Low-Noise Operation

A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) binary image sensor is proposed for low-power and low-noise operation. The proposed binary image sensor has the advantages of reduced power consumption and fixed pattern noise (FPN). A gate/body-tied (GBT) p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (PMOSFET)-type photodetector is used as the proposed CMOS binary image sensor. The GBT PMOSFET-type photodetector has a floating gate that amplifies the photocurrent generated by incident light. Therefore, the sensitivity of the GBT PMOSFET-type photodetector is higher than that of other photodetectors. The proposed CMOS binary image sensor consists of a pixel array with $394(H){\times}250(V)$ pixels, scanners, bias circuits, and column parallel readout circuits for binary image processing. The proposed CMOS binary image sensor was analyzed by simulation. Using the dynamic comparator, a power consumption reduction of approximately 99.7% was achieved, and this performance was verified by the simulation by comparing the results with those of a two-stage comparator. Also, it was confirmed using simulation that the FPN of the proposed CMOS binary image sensor was successfully reduced by use of the double sampling process.