Abstract
CMOS-based image sensors offer the unique capability of integrating all electronic circuitry of a digital camera on a single chip. The resulting system, hereafter referred to as micro-camera because of its high level of integration, has a great potential in terms of low-power consumption, rendering a wide range of new applications in the field of portable multimedia devices possible. This chapter presents the concepts for the design of such low-power micro-cameras. In a first part, the photodetection principle and the basic CMOS sensor architectures are described. In a second part, the design of low-power Analog to Digital Converters suited for video applications is presented before shortly discussing onchip control and pre-processing functionalities. Two examples of micro-camera realisations are then presented jointly to their specifications, architecture and performances. A summary followed by an outlook on future improvements and applications concludes the chapter.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
D. Renshaw, P. B. Denyer, G. Wang, and M. Y. Lu, “ASIC image sensors,” in Proc. IEEE ISCAS’90, (New Orleans, USA), pp. 3038–3041, May 1990.
O. Yadid-Pecht, R. Ginosar, and Y. S. Diamand, “A random access photodiode array for intelligent image capture,” IEEE Trans. on Electron Devices, vol. 38, pp. 1772–1780, 1991.
E. R. Fossum, “Active pixel sensors-are CCDs dinosaurs?,” in CCDs and Optical Sensors III, vol. 1900, pp. 2–14, 1993.
M. Ansorge, F. Pellandini, S. Tanner, J. Bracamonte, P. Stadelmann, J.-L. Nagel, P. Seitz, N. Blanc, and C. Piguet, “Very low-power image acquisiton and processing for mobile communication devices,” in Proc. IEEE Int’l. Symp. on Signals, Circuits and Systems, (Iasi, Romania), pp. 289–296, July 10–11, 2001.
S. Mendis, S. E. Kemeny, and E. R. Fossum, “CMOS active pixel image sensor,” IEEE Trans. on Electron Devices, vol. 41, pp. 452–453, March 1994.
O. Vietze and P. Seitz, “Image sensing with programmable offset pixels for increased dynamic range of more than 150 dB,” in Proc. SPIE, Solid-State Sensor Arrays and CCD Cameras, vol. 2654, (San Jose, USA), pp. 93–98, 31 Jan.–2 Feb., 1996.
C. H. Aw and B. A. Wooley, “A 128 × 128 pixel standard CMOS image sensor with electronic shutter,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 31, pp. 1922–1930, December 1996.
P. Seitz, Handbook of Computer Visions and Applications, ch. Solid state image sensing, pp. 165–222. Academic Press, 2000.
B. Pain, G. Yang, and C. Ho, “A single-chip programmable digital CMOS imager with enhanced low-light detection capability,” in 13th Int. Conf. on VLSI Design, (Calcutta, India), January 4–7, 2000.
S. Tanner, Low-Power Architectures for Single-Chip Digital Image Sensors. Ph. d. thesis, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, November 2000.
G. Wang, D. Renshaw, P. B. Denyer, and M. Lu, “CMOS video cameras,” in Proc. IEEE EURO ASIC’91 Conference, (Paris, France), pp. 100–103, May 1991.
M. Willemin, N. Blanc, G. K. Lang, S. Lauxtermann, P. Schwider, P. Seitz, and M. Waeny, “Optical characterization methods for solid-state image sensors,” Optics and Lasers in Engineering, vol. 36, pp. 185–194, 2001.
A. J. Theuwissen, Solid-State Imaging with Charge-Coupled Devices. Kluwer Academic Publisher, 1995.
G. C. Holst, CCD Arrays cameras and displays. JCD Publ., 1996.
L. Grisoni, A. Heubi, P. Balsiger, and F. Pellandini, “Micro-power 14-bit ADC: 45 μW at ±1.3 V and 16 kSample/s,” in Proc. of ISIC’97, (Singapore), pp. 39–42, Sept. 10–12, 1997.
H. S. Lee, “CMOS operational amplifiers for low-power, low-voltage circuits,” in Workshop on Low-Power/Low-Voltage IC Design, (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), June 27–July 1, 1994.
T. B. Cho and P. R. Gray, “A 10-bit, 20-MS/s, 35-mW pipelined A/D converter,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 30, pp. 166–172, March 1995.
P. C. Yu and H. S. Lee, “A high-swing 2-V CMOS operational amplifier with replica-amp gain enhancement,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 28, pp. 1265–1272, December 1993.
E. Sackinger and W. Guggenbuhl, “A high-swing, high-impedance MOS cascode circuit,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 25, pp. 289–298, February 1990.
K. Bult and G. J. Geelen, “A fast-settling CMOS op-amp for S-C circuits with 90-dB DC gain,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 25, pp. 1379–1384, December 1990.
E. Vittoz, “Limits to low-power, low-voltage analog circuit design,” in Workshop on Low-Power/Low-Voltage IC Design, (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), June 27–July 1, 1994.
V. Peluso, M. S. J. Steyaert, and W. Sansen, “A 900-mV low-power DS A/D converter with 77-dB dynamic range,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 33, pp. 1887–1897, December 1998.
A. P. Chandrakasan, S. Sheng, and R. W. Brodersen, “Low-power CMOS digital design,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 27, pp. 473–484, April 1992.
J. Rabaey, “Low-power design at architectural and system level,” in Workshop on Low-Power/Low-Voltage IC Design, (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), June 27–July 1, 1994.
P. Vorenkamp and R. Roovers, “A 12-b, 60-MS/s cascaded folding and interpolating ADC,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 32, pp. 1876–1886, December 1997.
V. Valencic, “Micropower CMOS data converters,” in Workshop on Integrated A/D & D/A Converters, (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), July 5–9, 1993.
M. Yotsuyanagi, H. Hasegawa, and K. Sone, “A 2 V, 10 b, 20 MSamples/s, mixed-mode subranging CMOS A/D converter,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 30, pp. 1533–1537, December 1995.
B. Ginetti, A. Vandemeulebroecke, and P. Jespers, “RSD cyclic analog-todigital converter,” in Symp. VLSI Circuits Dig. Tech. Papers, pp. 125–126, 1988.
B. Ginetti, P. Jespers, and A. Vandemeulebroecke, “A CMOS 13-bit cyclic A/D converter,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 27, pp. 957–965, July 1992.
A. Heubi, P. Balsiger, and F. Pellandini, “Micro power 13-bit cyclic RSD A/D converter,” in Proc. ISLPED’96, (Monterey CA, USA), pp. 253–257, Aug. 12–14, 1996.
K. Nagaraj, “A 250-mW, 8-b, 52-Msamples/s parallel-pipelined A/D converter with reduced number of amplifiers,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 32, pp. 312–320, March 1997.
L. Grisoni, Low-Power Floating Point A/D Converters for Audio Signals. Ph. d. thesis, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1998.
W. C. Black and D. A. Hodges, “Time interleaved converter arrays,” IEEE JSSC, vol. 15, pp. 1022–1029, December 1980.
N. Blanc, S. Lauxtermann, P. Seitz, S. Tanner, A. Heubi, M. Ansorge, F. Pellandini, and E. Doering, “Digital low-power camera on a chip,” in Proc. of Int’l. COST 254 Workshop on Intelligent Communication Technologies and Applications with Emphasis on Mobile Communications, (Neuchâtel, Switzerland), pp. 80–83, May 5–7, 1999.
S. Tanner, A. Heubi, M. Ansorge, and F. Pellandini, “A 10-bit low-power dual-channel ADC with active element sharing,” in Proc. ISIC99, (Singapore), pp. 529–532, September 8–10, 1999.
S. Tanner, S. Lauxtermann, M. Waeny, M. Willemin, N. Blanc, J. Grupp, R. Dinger, E. Doering, M. Ansorge, P. Seitz, and F. Pellandini, “Lowpower digital image sensor for still picture image acquisition,” in Proc. of SPIE Electronic Imaging 2001, vol. 4306, (San Jose, USA), pp. 358–365, January 21–26, 2001.
K. B. Cho, A. Krymski, and E. R. Fossum, “A 1.2V micropower CMOS active pixel image sensor for portable applications,” in IEEE ISSCC, (San Francisco, USA), February 7–10, 2000.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tanner, S., Ansorge, M., Pellandini, F., Blanc, N. (2003). Low-Power Micro-Cameras for Mobile Multimedia Devices. In: Tasič, J.F., Najim, M., Ansorge, M. (eds) Intelligent Integrated Media Communication Techniques. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48718-7_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48718-7_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-7552-0
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48718-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive