A CMOS imaging chip for real-time range finding

A novel CMOS imaging chip for real-time range finding is described. The system can extract range information without any mechanical movement and all the signal processing is done on chip. All the image sensors and mixed-signal processors are integrated in a chip. A prototype chip has been fabricated in 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS technology that occupies 0.9 mm /spl times/ 0.9 mm silicon area. It can report the distance in the range 1.5 m - 10 m in 18 scales. Analog power dissipation is 50 mW for a 5 V power supply. The paper presents the proposed range extraction concept, describes the technique and circuit architecture, and verifies functionality by simulated results.