Solid-state imaging devices with improved dynamic range

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

a photosensor for collecting a charge created by incident photons, wherein the photosensor includes a plurality of photodetectors, and wherein the photosensor is exposed to incident photons during a base exposure and additional incident photons during one or more (N) additional exposures;

a comparator for comparing a digital voltage value, corresponding to the charge collected by each of the plurality of the photodetectors, to a predetermined value, and generating a comparison output; and

a normalizing circuit for normalizing the digital voltage value, in response to the comparison output indicative of the digital voltage value exceeding the predetermined value, and outputting a normalized voltage value, wherein the normalizing circuit shifts the digital voltage value to the right by N bits to generate the normalized voltage value.

2. The solid-state imaging device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of photodetectors are CMOS devices.

3. The solid-state imaging device of claim 1 further including a frame memory for storing the normalized voltage values.

4. The solid-state imaging device of claim 3 further including a timing control unit for controlling a sequencing of the plurality of photodetectors.

5. The solid-state imaging device of claim 4 wherein the timing control unit includes an array sequencer and an exposure logic unit.

6. The solid-state imaging device of claim 5 further including an indexer for providing an index number to the normalizing circuit.

7. The solid-state imaging device of claim 6 further comprising a data bus for transferring data between the frame memory and the comparator.

8. The solid-state imaging device of claim 4 wherein the timing control unit comprises a first output corresponding to a row-number of the plurality of photodetectors, and a second output corresponding to a column-number of the plurality of photodetectors.

9. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

means for collecting a charge created by incident photons, wherein the means for collecting includes a plurality of photodetectors, and wherein the means for collecting is exposed to incident photons during a base exposure and additional incident photons during one or more (N) additional exposures;

means for comparing a digital voltage value, corresponding to the charge collected by each of the plurality of the photodetectors, to a predetermined value, and generating a comparison output; and

means for normalizing the digital voltage value, in response to the comparison output indicative of the digital voltage value exceeding the predetermined value, and outputting a normalized voltage value, wherein the means for normalizing shifts the digital voltage value to the right by N bits to generate the normalized voltage value.

10. The solid-state imaging device of claim 9 wherein the plurality of photodetectors are CMOS devices.

11. The solid-state imaging device of claim 9 further including a frame memory for storing the normalized voltage values.

12. The solid-state imaging device of claim 11 further including a timing control unit for controlling a sequencing of the plurality of photodetectors.

13. The solid-state imaging device of claim 12 wherein the timing control unit includes an array sequencer and an exposure logic unit.

14. The solid-state imaging device of claim 13 further including an indexer for providing an index number to the mean for normalizing.

15. The solid-state imaging device of claim 14 further comprising a data bus for transferring data between the frame memory and the means for comparing.

16. The solid-state imaging device of claim 12 wherein the timing control unit comprises a first output corresponding to a row-number of the plurality of photodetectors, and a second output corresponding to a column-number of the plurality of photodetectors.