Concept for a CMOS Image Sensor Suited for Analog Image Pre-Processing
This addresses image quality issues for applications requiring low-latency processing, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing analog and digital methods.
The paper tackles the problem of image noise by proposing a CMOS image sensor concept that performs analog image pre-processing, such as restoration algorithms, before digital conversion, promising improved image quality compared to digital domain processing.
A concept for a novel CMOS image sensor suited for analog image pre-processing is presented in this paper. As an example, an image restoration algorithm for reducing image noise is applied as image pre-processing in the analog domain. To supply low-latency data input for analog image preprocessing, the proposed concept for a CMOS image sensor offers a new sensor signal acquisition method in 2D. In comparison to image pre-processing in the digital domain, the proposed analog image pre-processing promises an improved image quality. Furthermore, the image noise at the stage of analog sensor signal acquisition can be used to select the most effective restoration algorithm applied to the analog circuit due to image processing prior to the A/D converter.