A Macro-Pixel Based RGBZ CMOS Image Sensor for Simultaneous Color and Multifrequency Depth Image Acquisition

This paper introduces a novel system architecture designed for on-chip simultaneous color (RGB) and multifrequency depth (Z) measurement utilizing an indirect Time of Flight (iToF) image sensor. The proposed macro-pixel structure enables the acquisition of multi-frame data in a single shot, albeit at the cost of trading off the frame rate for the resolution. The electrical simulations demonstrate the robust performance of the system, showcasing its capability to achieve single-shot reconstruction of RGBZ images. The proposed architecture yields RGB images relatively comparable in quality to those obtained from conventional RGBZ sensors while enhancing the accuracy of depth images compared to prevailing 2D/3D reconstruction methodologies because of the multifrequency approach.