CN-121985232-A - Image forming apparatus and control method thereof

CN121985232ACN 121985232 ACN121985232 ACN 121985232ACN-121985232-A

Abstract

The embodiment of the disclosure provides an imaging device and a control method thereof. The imaging device comprises at least one pixel array, the pixel array comprises at least two subarrays, the subarrays comprise at least two pixel rows, the imaging device is configured to acquire imaging data by the pixel array in an exposure mode, transfer and output the imaging data by the pixel array in a transfer mode, wherein the transfer and output of the imaging data by the pixel array comprises the steps of respectively transferring one piece of data to be screened from the at least two subarrays in response to a first control signal, screening target data from the data to be screened, which are transferred from the at least two subarrays, in response to a second control signal, transferring the target data to a next-stage pixel array in response to a third control signal, or transferring the target data transferred from a previous-stage pixel array to the next-stage pixel array, or outputting the target data.

Inventors

XIE WENXUAN
CHEN KAN
ZHANG XI
ZHANG RUI

Assignees

武汉北极芯微电子有限公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20260403

Claims (10)

1.An imaging device, comprising at least one pixel array, wherein the pixel array comprises at least two subarrays, and the subarrays comprise at least two pixel rows; The imaging device is configured to acquire imaging data by the pixel array in an exposure mode, transfer and output the imaging data by the pixel array in a transfer mode, wherein the transfer and output of the imaging data by the pixel array comprises: Respectively transferring one piece of data to be screened from at least two subarrays in response to a first control signal, wherein the data to be screened is imaging data in one pixel row in the subarray; Responding to a second control signal, and screening target data from the data to be screened transferred out of at least two subarrays; And in response to a third control signal, transferring the target data to a next-stage pixel array, transferring the target data transferred out of a previous-stage pixel array to the next-stage pixel array, or outputting the target data.
2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device comprises a primary selector corresponding to the number of subarrays, a control end of the primary selector is connected to the first control signal, an input end of the primary selector is connected to a signal output end of each pixel row in the corresponding subarray, and an output end of the primary selector outputs data to be screened in the subarray.
3. The imaging device according to claim 2, further comprising a second-level selector corresponding to the number of pixel arrays, a control terminal of the second-level selector being connected to the second control signal, an input terminal of the second-level selector being connected to an output terminal of the first-level selector corresponding to each sub-array in the corresponding pixel array, the output terminal of the second-level selector outputting the target data in the corresponding pixel array.
4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a cascade selector corresponding to the number of pixel arrays, wherein a control terminal of the cascade selector is connected to the third control signal, an input terminal of the cascade selector is connected to an output terminal of the two-stage selector corresponding to the corresponding pixel array and an output terminal of the cascade selector corresponding to a previous-stage pixel array, and an output terminal of the cascade selector is connected to an input terminal of the cascade selector corresponding to a next-stage pixel array or directly outputs the target data.
5. The imaging apparatus of claim 2, wherein the number of pixel rows in at least two of the sub-arrays in the same pixel array is the same, and the first-stage selectors of the sub-arrays having the same number of pixel rows in the same pixel array are each responsive to the same first control signal at the same time.
6. The imaging device of claim 2, wherein the number of rows of pixels in each sub-array within a same pixel array is the same and equal to the number of sub-arrays within the pixel array.
7. The imaging apparatus of claim 2, wherein the number of pixel rows in at least two sub-arrays within the same pixel array is different, and the first-level selectors corresponding to the sub-arrays having different numbers of pixel rows within the same pixel array are simultaneously responsive to different first control signals.
8. The imaging apparatus of claim 2, wherein the number of pixel rows in each sub-array within the same pixel array is changed regularly, and the first control signals accessed by the primary selectors corresponding to each sub-array within the same pixel array are changed regularly.
9. The imaging apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a shift register module, wherein the imaging apparatus is further configured such that one input of the cascade selector corresponding to the pixel array furthest from the shift register module is accessed to a reset signal.
10. A control method of an imaging device, which is applied to an imaging device, characterized in that the imaging device includes at least one pixel array including at least two sub-arrays including at least two pixel rows, the control method comprising: in an exposure mode, controlling the pixel array to acquire imaging data; in a transfer mode, at least two subarrays are controlled to be respectively transferred out of one piece of data to be screened, the data to be screened is imaging data in one pixel row in the subarrays, target data are screened from the data to be screened which are transferred out of the at least two subarrays, the target data are transferred to a next-stage pixel array, or the target data transferred out of a previous-stage pixel array are transferred to a next-stage pixel array, or the target data are output.

Description

Image forming apparatus and control method thereof Technical Field The present disclosure relates to the field of imaging technologies, and in particular, to an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof. Background With the development of single photon avalanche diode (Single Photon Avalanche Diode, SPAD) device fabrication technology and integrated circuits, SPAD-based single photon counting imaging (Photon Counting Imaging, PCI) technology has been applied. In a SPAD-based PCI image sensor (SPAD PCI sensor), each pixel unit has an independent SPAD, a quenching circuit and a counting circuit, and the pixel units are duplicated and expanded into an array of photosensitive areas arranged in an array. Meanwhile, the components such as a readout circuit, a control circuit and the like are connected outside the photosensitive area array to jointly form the PCI image sensor capable of capturing the target optical image. After the exposure is finished, the counting value of the counting circuit in the PCI image sensor can feed back the light intensity information of the optical target. The count value of a single pixel reflects the light intensity of a single point target, while the count value of the two-dimensional pixel array statistics can depict a digital image of the field of view of the target. The SPAD PCI image sensor can read out each pixel count value in the pixel array from the pixel array and transmit the pixel count value to a downstream signal array module. The existing SPAD PCI image sensor reads out each pixel count value in the pixel array based on a readout circuit of a cascade structure, the delay of reading out the pixel count value is overlarge due to the overlong length of the cascade structure, and the failure of any node in the cascade structure can lead to the failure of a plurality of rows of pixel count values before the failure node, namely the failure risk of the cascade structure is high. Disclosure of Invention In view of the above, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof. In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical scheme of the present disclosure is realized as follows: In a first aspect, an embodiment of the disclosure provides an imaging device, the imaging device comprising at least one pixel array, the pixel array comprising at least two subarrays, the subarray comprising at least two pixel rows, the imaging device being configured to acquire imaging data in an exposure mode, transfer and output the imaging data in a transfer mode, wherein the transfer and output of the imaging data by the pixel array comprises transferring one piece of data to be screened out from the at least two subarrays respectively in response to a first control signal, screening target data from the data to be screened out from the at least two subarrays in response to a second control signal, transferring the target data to a next-stage pixel array in response to a third control signal, transferring the target data from the previous-stage pixel array to the next-stage pixel array, or outputting the target data. In some embodiments, the imaging device includes a first-stage selector corresponding to the number of subarrays, a control end of the first-stage selector is connected to the first control signal, an input end of the first-stage selector is connected to a signal output end of each pixel row in the corresponding subarray, and an output end of the first-stage selector outputs data to be screened in the subarray. In some embodiments, the imaging device further includes a second-level selector corresponding to the number of pixel arrays, a control end of the second-level selector is connected to the second control signal, an input end of the second-level selector is connected to an output end of the first-level selector corresponding to each sub-array in the corresponding pixel array, and an output end of the second-level selector outputs the target data in the corresponding pixel array. In some embodiments, the imaging device further includes a cascade selector corresponding to the number of pixel arrays, a control end of the cascade selector is connected to the third control signal, an input end of the cascade selector is connected to an output end of the two-stage selector corresponding to the corresponding pixel array and an output end of the cascade selector corresponding to a previous-stage pixel array, and an output end of the cascade selector is connected to an input end of the cascade selector corresponding to a next-stage pixel array or directly outputs the target data. In some embodiments, the number of pixel rows in at least two sub-arrays in the same pixel array is the same, and the first-stage selectors corresponding to the sub-arrays having the same number of pixel rows in the same pixel array are simultaneously responsive to the same first control signal. In some embodiments, the number of rows of pixels in e