{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,29]],"date-time":"2025-11-29T07:59:40Z","timestamp":1764403180405,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]],"date-time":"2022-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1660262400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The surveillance cameras we focus on target the volume zone, and area reduction is a top priority. However, by simplifying the ADC comparator, we face a new RUSH current issue, for which we propose a circuit solution. This paper proposes two novel techniques of column-ADC for surveillance cameras to improve low-light characteristics. RUSH current compensation reduces transient current consumption fluctuations during AD conversion and utilizing timing shift ADCs decreases the number of simultaneously operating ADCs. These proposed techniques improve low-light characteristics because they reduce the operating noise of the circuit. In order to support small signal measurement, this paper also proposes a high-accuracy evaluation system that can measure both small optical\/electrical signals in low-light circumstances. To demonstrate these proposals, test chips were fabricated using a 55 nm CIS process and their optical\/electrical characteristics were measured. As a result, low-light linearity as optical characteristics were reduced by 63% and column interference (RUSH current) as an electrical characteristic was also reduced by 50%. As for the high-accuracy evaluation system, we confirmed that the inter-sample variation of column interference was 0.05 LSB. This ADC achieved a figure-of-merit (FoM) of 0.32 e-\u00b7pJ\/step, demonstrating its usefulness for other ADC architectures while using a single-slope-based simple configuration.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s22166040","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,15]],"date-time":"2022-08-15T23:44:03Z","timestamp":1660607043000},"page":"6040","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Circuit Techniques to Improve Low-Light Characteristics and High-Accuracy Evaluation System for CMOS Image Sensor"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Norihito","family":"Kato","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Renesas Electronics Corporation, Kodaira 187-8588, Japan"}]},{"given":"Fukashi","family":"Morishita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renesas Electronics Corporation, Kodaira 187-8588, Japan"}]},{"given":"Satoshi","family":"Okubo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renesas Electronics Corporation, Kodaira 187-8588, Japan"}]},{"given":"Masao","family":"Ito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renesas Electronics Corporation, Kodaira 187-8588, Japan"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"932","DOI":"10.1109\/4.848200","article-title":"A high-dynamic-range CMOS image sensor for automotive applications","volume":"35","author":"Schanz","year":"2000","journal-title":"IEEE J. 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