This present invention illustrates that alternating bright and dark pixels wherein the periods of bright and dark are varied by changing the consecutive number of pixels that are bright and dark. Accordingly, the present invention provides a technique and architectural design to achieve efficient testing of the multiple parallel output column circuits integrated with an X-Y addressable image sensor by using on-chip signals. This invention is particularly useful in testing high-speed output column CDS circuits for a high frame rate image sensor fabricated using a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) technology incorporating a pinned photo-diode. The technique allow testing of the frequency response of the output column circuits by observing of the output signals either in analog form or digital bits if an on-chip ADC is used without applying any external input signals.

The invention provides a photosensitive device with locally adjustable exposure time, wherein means provide local modification of the integration time, for some detectors, as a function of the lighting received by each detector. In FIG. 1, these means are formed by a shift register with a series input and parallel outputs, by MOS transistors and by charge removal diodes.

Random access charge transfer devices are provided in which it is possible to simultaneously read electric charge that is stored within each detection element (pixel) that is in one of any desired combination of columns and that is also in one of any desired combination of rows. It is also possible to simultaneously read electric charge stored within each detection element or pixel in at least one selected column or row. In addition, it is possible to simultaneously cause injection of some or all of the electric charge stored in each detection element in one of any desired combination of columns and also in one of any desired combination of rows, or to simultaneously cause injection of some or all of the electric charge stored in each detection element in at least one selected column or row. In certain embodiments, a plurality of pre-amplifiers are connected to the column or row electrodes of the charge transfer device, for simultaneously producing a plurality of outputs, each output corresponding to the electric charge stored within at least one detection element or pixel in a single column or row, and a summation amplifier is provided having a feedback loop that is connected into each of the pre-amplifiers.

A charge injection device image sensor, having increased sensitivity and dynamic range, uses a two dimensional array of cells having m rows each with n cells arranged in n columns. Peripheral electronics first reset all cells along each of the columns, then sequentially scan each column to generate a row voltage signal before advancing to the next sequential row and repetitively scanning across the cells until all array cells have been raster scanned. A voltage preamplifier is connected to each associated row to amplify the video signal only when the cells along that row are being scanned, and reduces the total capacitance of the row-selection electronics.

The disclosure is a solid-state imaging device, including a photosensor for collecting charge created by incident photons, a comparator for comparing a digital voltage value corresponding to the collected charge, to a predetermined value, and generating a comparison output, and a normalizing circuit for normalizing the digital voltage value, in response to the comparison output.