Anti-blooming gates
From The Glossary of Digital Photography
Devices placed on a CCD in between pixels to drain off additional photons once the pixel has reached its maximum value. These photons would otherwise overflow and cause surrounding pixels to reach their maximum value. If the photons overflow into the surrounding pixels, the detail in the image is reduced, causing a phenomenon known as blooming, as the other pixels also glow white. See also blooming; CCD
