US Patent 7511323 Pixel cells in a honeycomb arrangement

The present invention, in the various exemplary embodiments, provides a RGB color filter array. The red, green and blue pixel cells are arranged in a honeycomb pattern. The honeycomb layout provides the space to vary the size of pixel cells of an individual color so that, for example, the photosensor of blue pixels can be made larger than that of the red or green pixels. In another aspect of the invention, depicted in the exemplary embodiments, the honeycomb structure can also be implemented with each pixel row having a same color of pixel cells which can simplify can conversion in the readout circuits. In another aspect of the invention, the RGB honeycomb pixel array may be implemented using a shared pixel cell architecture.