Increasing readout speed in CMOS APS sensors through group readout

摘要

A method and associated architecture for dividing column readout circuitry in an active pixel sensor in a manner which reduces the parasitic capacitance on the readout line. In a preferred implementation, column readout circuits are grouped and provided with group signaling. Accordingly, only column output circuits in a selected group significantly impart a parasitic capacitance effect on shared column readout lines. Group signaling allows increasing pixel readout rate while maintaining a constant frame rate for utility in large format high-speed imaging applications.