Adaptation of Current Signals with Floating-Gate Circuits

Abstract

In this paper we present a new, adaptive spatial-derivative circuit for CMOS image sensors. The circuit removes its offset as a natural part of its operation using a combination of electron tunneling and hot-electron injection to add or remove charge on a floating-gate of an auto-zeroing amplifier. We designed, fabricated and successfully tested a chip with the circuit. Test results show that the circuit reduces the offsets by more than an order of magnitude.