EP-4738869-A1 - IMAGE SENSOR, ELECTRONIC DEVICE COMPRISING IMAGE SENSOR, AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SAME

EP4738869A1EP 4738869 A1EP4738869 A1EP 4738869A1EP-4738869-A1

Abstract

An electronic device according to an embodiment may comprise: a lens unit; an image sensor for receiving light which has passed through the lens unit and converting same into an electrical signal; and at least one processor configured to control the image sensor. The image sensor may read out a pixel value on the basis of a first readout operation period when outputting an image frame on the basis of a first readout mode. The image sensor may read out a pixel value on the basis of a second readout operation period longer than the first readout operation period when outputting an image frame on the basis of a second readout mode. The image sensor may be configured such that, when performing a multi-frame photographing operation including a first operation of outputting a first image frame on the basis of the first readout mode and a second operation of outputting a second image frame on the basis of the second readout mode, on the basis of a request of the at least one processor, the image sensor performs the first operation on the basis of a third read operation period equal to/longer than the second read operation period, and performs the second operation on the basis of the third read operation period. Various other embodiments are possible.

Inventors

SHIMOKAWA, SHUICHI
KIM, DONGSOO
PARK, JAEHYOUNG
KANG, Kawang
MOON, Inah
SONG, Byeongjoo
YOUN, YEOTAK
WON, Jonghoon

Assignees

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240726

Claims (15)

An electronic device comprising: a lens unit; an image sensor configured to receive light passing through the lens unit and to convert the light into an electrical signal; and at least one processor 120 configured to control the image sensor, wherein the image sensor is configured to: when an image frame is outputted based on a first readout mode, read out a pixel value based on a first readout operation period; when an image frame is outputted based on a second readout mode, read out a pixel value based on a second readout operation period which is longer than the first readout operation period; and when performing a multi-frame capturing operation comprising a first operation of outputting a first image frame based on the first readout mode and a second operation of outputting a second image frame based on the second readout mode is performed based on a request of the at least one processor, perform the first operation based on a third readout operation period which is longer than or equal to the second readout operation period, and perform the second operation based on the third readout operation period.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first readout mode comprises acquiring a pixel value based on normal correlated double sampling (CDS) comprising one reset sampling operation and one signal sampling operation, and wherein the second readout mode comprises acquiring a pixel value based on double conversion gain (DCG) CDS comprising two reset sampling operations and two signal sampling operations.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the multi-frame capturing operation comprises a reset operation of resetting a pixel which is included in a second line different from a first line from which the pixel value is read out, during a section excluding a section in which sampling is performed in the first operation and the second operation from the third readout operation period.
The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the image sensor comprises: a light receiving element configured to convert the light into an electric signal; and a first switch connected to the light receiving element, wherein the reset operation comprises transmitting an operation signal for operating the first switch to the first switch, wherein the image sensor is configured to restrict a section in which the operation signal is transmitted to the first switch 420 to a section excluding the section in which sampling is performed in the first operation and the second operation.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second operation comprises a first signal sampling operation to acquire a first sampling result and a second signal sampling operation to acquire a second sampling result, and wherein the image sensor is configured to output the second image frame based on bits that are acquired by synthesizing the first sampling result and the second sampling result.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the image sensor comprises a plurality of pixels, wherein each of the plurality of pixels comprises a first capacitor connected to a floating node, a second capacitor, and a second switch configured to control connection between the second capacitor and the floating node, and wherein the image sensor is configured to read out a pixel value based on a first sampling result which is acquired in a state in which the second switch is opened, and a second sampling result which is acquired in a state in which the second switch is closed.
The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the image sensor 230 further comprises a selector configured to selectively output any one of the first sampling result 1210 or the second sampling result 1220.
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the image sensor is configured to: output the first image frame based on a first exposure time; and output the second image frame based on a second exposure time which is different from the first exposure time, wherein the at least one processor is configured to acquire image data that has a dynamic range extended by synthesizing the first image frame and the second image frame.
A method for operating an electronic device comprising an image sensor, the method comprising: selecting any one of a first readout mode, a second readout mode, or a multi-frame capturing mode; when the first readout mode is selected, reading out a pixel value through a first sampling operation for a first readout operation period; when the second readout mode is selected, reading out a pixel value through a second sampling operation for a second readout operation period which is longer than the first readout operation period; and when the multi-frame capturing mode is selected, performing a multi-frame capturing operation to read out a first image frame and a second image frame, wherein the multi-frame capturing operation comprises: a first operation to read out a pixel value of the first image frame based on the first sampling operation for a third readout operation period which is longer than or equal to the second readout operation period; and a second operation to read out a pixel value of the second image frame based on the second sampling operation for the third readout operation period.
The method of claim 9, wherein the first sampling operation comprises acquiring a pixel value based on normal CDS comprising one reset sampling operation and one sampling operation, and wherein the second sampling operation comprises acquiring a pixel value based on DCG CDS comprising two reset sampling operations and two signal sampling operations.
The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the multi-frame capturing operation comprises a reset operation of resetting a pixel which is included in a second line different from a first line from which the pixel value is read out, during a section excluding a section in which sampling is performed in the first operation and the second operation from the third readout operation period.
The electronic device of claim 11, wherein each of a plurality of pixels included in the image sensor comprises: a light receiving element configured to convert the light into an electric signal; and a switch connected to the light receiving element, wherein the reset operation comprises transmitting an operation signal for operating the switch of the pixel included in the second line to the switch, wherein a section in which the operation signal is transmitted to the switch is within a section except for a section in which sampling is performed based on the first sampling operation, and a section in which sampling is performed based on the second sampling operation within the third readout operation period.
The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the second operation comprises: a first signal sampling operation to acquire a first sampling result; a second signal sampling operation to acquire a second sampling result; and an operation of outputting the second image frame based on bits that are acquired by synthesizing the first sampling result and the second sampling result.
The method of claim 9, wherein the image sensor comprises a plurality of pixels, wherein each of the plurality of pixels comprises a first capacitor connected to a floating node, a second capacitor, and a switch configured to control connection between the second capacitor and the floating node, and wherein the second operation comprises: acquiring a first sampling result corresponding to a signal detected in a state in which the switch is opened; acquiring a second sampling result corresponding to a signal detected in a state in which the switch is closed; and reading out a pixel value based on the first sampling result and the second sampling result.
The method of claim 9, wherein the first operation comprises outputting the first image frame based on a first exposure time, wherein the second operation comprises outputting the second image frame based on a second exposure time which is different from the first exposure time, and wherein the multi-frame capturing operation comprises acquiring image data that has a dynamic range extended by synthesizing the first image frame and the second image frame.

Description

[Technical Field] The disclosure relates to an image sensor, an electronic device including the image sensor and an operating method thereof, and a computer-readable recording medium to perform the operating method. [Background Art] An electronic device may include an image sensor for capturing an image of a subject. The image sensor may detect information on the captured image of the subject by using a photoelectric transformation element, which outputs electrical signals according to an intensity of light reflected from a subject. For example, the image sensor may include a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor or a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor. The above information is presented as related art information only to assist with understanding of the disclosure. No determination or assertion is made as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure. [Disclosure of Invention] [Solution to Problem] An electronic device according to an embodiment may include a lens unit, an image sensor configured to receive light passing through the lens unit and to convert the light into an electrical signal, and at least one processor configured to control the image sensor. When an image frame is outputted based on a first readout mode, the image sensor may read out a pixel value based on a first readout operation period. When an image frame is outputted based on a second readout mode, the image sensor may read out a pixel value based on a second readout operation period which is longer than the first readout operation period. When performing a multi-frame capturing operation including a first operation of outputting a first image frame based on the first readout mode and a second operation of outputting a second image frame based on the second readout mode is performed based on a request of the at least one processor, the image sensor may perform the first operation based on a third readout operation period which is longer than or equal to the second readout operation period, and may perform the second operation based on the third readout operation period. According to an embodiment, a method for operating an electronic device including an image sensor may include an operation of selecting any one of a first readout mode, a second readout mode, or a multi-frame capturing mode. The method may include an operation of, when the first readout mode is selected, reading out a pixel value through a first sampling operation for a first readout operation period. The method may include an operation of, when the second readout mode is selected, reading out a pixel value through a second sampling operation for a second readout operation period which is longer than the first readout operation period. The method may include an operation of, when the multi-frame capturing mode is selected, performing a multi-frame capturing operation to read out a first image frame and a second image frame. The multi-frame capturing operation may include a first operation to read out a pixel value of the first image frame based on the first sampling operation for a third readout operation period which is longer than or equal to the second readout operation period. The multi-frame capturing operation may include a second operation to read out a pixel value of the second image frame based on the second sampling operation for the third readout operation period. A computer-readable non-transitory recording medium according to an embodiment may have a computer program recorded thereon to execute the above-described method when an electronic device including an image senor executes the method. [Brief Description of Drawings] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in a network environment according to various embodiments.FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the camera module according to various embodiments.FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an image sensor according to an embodiment.FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an example of a circuit constituting a pixel included in an image sensor according to an embodiment.FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an example of an operation signal indicating that an image sensor according to an embodiment performs a reset operation of resetting a pixel, and an example of an operation signal indicating that that the image sensor performs an operation of reading out a pixel value based on a first readout mode.FIG. 6 is a view illustrating examples of an operation signal indicating that the image sensor according to an embodiment performs an operation of reading out a pixel value based on a second readout mode.FIG. 7 is a view depicting graphs illustrating an operation of the image sensor reading out a pixel value on a line basis over time.FIG. 8 is a view illustrating overlapping of a time section in which the image sensor performs a sampling operation to read out a pixel value included in a first line, and a time section