A Comprehensive Tool for Modeling CMOS Image-Sensor-Noise Performance

Author

Gow, Ryan D. ; Renshaw, David ; Findlater, Keith ; Grant, Lindsay ; McLeod, Stuart J. ; Hart, John ; Nicol, Robert L.

Author_Institution

Univ. of Edinburgh

Volume

54

Issue

6

fYear

2007

fDate

6/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1321

Lastpage

1329

Abstract

Accurate modeling of image noise is important in understanding the relative contributions of multiple-noise mechanisms in the sensing, readout, and reconstruction phases of image formation. There is a lack of high-level image-sensor system modeling tools that enable engineers to see realistic visual effects of noise and change-specific design or process parameters to quickly see the resulting effects on image quality. This paper reports a comprehensive tool, written in MATLAB, for modeling noise in CMOS image sensors and showing the effect in images. The tool uses accepted theoretical/empirical noise models with parameters from measured process-data distributions. Output images from the tool are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in determining the effects of various noise sources on image quality

Keywords

CMOS image sensors; electronic engineering computing; integrated circuit modelling; integrated circuit noise; mathematics computing; CMOS image-sensor-noise performance; MATLAB; image formation; image noise; image quality; noise models; process-data distributions; readout phase; reconstruction phase; sensing phase; CMOS image sensors; Design engineering; Image quality; Image reconstruction; MATLAB; Mathematical model; Phase noise; Process design; Semiconductor device modeling; Visual effects; Image sensors; modeling; noise; simulation;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TED.2007.896718

Filename

4215175