Sony Corporation

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation

Hiroaki Ebihara

Yoshiharu Kudoh

Rei Yoshikawa

Koichi Okamoto

Eiichi Funatsu

Takayuki Goto

Youji Sakioka

Daisuke Yoshioka

Satoshi Ogata

Kazuhide Namba

Ryota Moriwaka

Yoshikazu Nitta

Go Asayama

Eiji Hirata

Hirotaka Kitami

There is provided a solid state imaging apparatus including a pixel array in which a plurality of unit pixels are arranged two-dimensionally. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion element, a transfer transistor which transfers a charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion element to floating diffusion, a reset transistor which resets the charge of the floating diffusion, and an output transistor which outputs the charge of the floating diffusion. The floating diffusion of at least one of the plurality of unit pixels is electrically connected via the output transistor.

Solid state imaging apparatus, signal reading method, and electronic apparatus

A solid-state imaging device including a photoelectric conversion portion photoelectrically converting incident light into signal charge and accumulate the signal charge, a plurality of signal lines including a transfer signal line to which a transfer signal for reading the signal charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion portion to a floating diffusion region is input, a driver circuit inputting a plurality of desired signals into the plurality of signal lines including the transfer signal line, and a terminal circuit connected to a side opposite to a side of the transfer signal line where the driver circuit is connected and to which a control signal for securing the transfer signal line at a constant voltage is input before a desired signal of the plurality of desired signals with respect to a signal line adjacent to the transfer signal line of the plurality of signal lines is input to the signal line adjacent to the transfer signal line.

Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the solid-state imaging device, and electronic device

A signal processing device includes a control unit that suspends supplying of a signal to an A/D conversion unit which performs A/D conversion, during an A/D conversion period in which the A/D conversion is performed on the signal that depends on an electric charge read from a pixel; and a maintenance unit that maintains a signal value of the signal in a state where the signal is supplied by the control unit to the A/D conversion unit and that supplies the maintained signal value to the A/D conversion unit in a state where the supplying of the signal to the A/D conversion unit is suspended by the control unit.

Signal processing device and method, imaging device and solid state imaging element

A solid-state image pickup device includes a pixel unit in which a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements having different sensitivities are arranged; and a pixel reading unit configured to read and add output signals from the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements in the pixel unit, and to obtain an output signal seemingly from one pixel. The pixel unit includes an absorbing unit configured to absorb overflowing electric charge from a photoelectric conversion element with a high sensitivity.

Solid-state image pickup device and camera system

An imaging device includes an exposure control unit, a determination unit, and an illuminance calculation unit. The exposure control unit is configured to control a plurality of exposure times. The determination unit is configured to determine whether or not saturation occurs using at least one data item of a plurality of data items obtained during the plurality of exposure times. The illuminance calculation unit is configured to calculate, if the determination unit determines that the saturation occurs, an illuminance using a data item different from the at least one data item used in the determination.

Imaging device and imaging method having an illuminance calculation unit calculating respective illuminances corresponding to digital signals

The present technology relates to an image sensor and a control method for an image sensor which are capable of measuring illuminance of each color in an image sensor. Each of a plurality of pixel units includes a pixel and a reset transistor, and the pixel includes a photoelectric converting unit that performs photoelectric conversion on light of a certain color incident through a color filter and a transfer transistor that transfers charges obtained by the photoelectric conversion of the photoelectric converting unit and is controllable for each color. According to control of the transfer transistor, the charges are read from the photoelectric converting unit through the transfer transistor and the reset transistor, and a voltage corresponding to the charges is supplied to an AD converting unit connected to the reset transistor. The present technology can be applied to, for example, an image sensor that photographs an image.

Image sensor and control method for image sensor

A solid-state image pickup device including a pixel unit in which a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements having different sensitivities are arranged; and a pixel reading unit configured to read and add output signals from the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements in the pixel unit, and to obtain an output signal seemingly from one pixel. The pixel unit includes an absorbing unit configured to absorb overflowing electric charge from a photoelectric conversion element with a high sensitivity.

A solid-state imaging device including a photoelectric conversion portion, plural signal lines including a transfer signal line to which a transfer signal for reading signal charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion portion to a floating diffusion region is input, a driver circuit inputting desired signals into the plural signal lines, and a terminal circuit connected to a side opposite to a side of the transfer signal line where the driver circuit is connected and to which a control signal for securing the transfer signal line at a constant voltage is input before a desired signal of is input to the signal line adjacent to the transfer signal line.

Imaging device and imaging method having saturation determination for an illuminance calculation

An oscillator includes: inverters that are connected in a loop shape and of which the number is an odd number greater than or equal to three; and a delay section that delays change in a voltage which is input to one inverter of the odd number of inverters. The one inverter is a schmitt trigger inverter. The schmitt trigger inverter includes a current source, and a resistor in which current supplied by the current source flows. A hysteresis width of the schmitt trigger inverter depends on the current which flows in the resistor.

Oscillator, oscillating method, image sensor, and imaging apparatus

A solid-state imaging element includes: a pixel section having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form, each of the pixels converting an optical signal into an electric signal and storing the electric signal according to exposure time; a dummy pixel section having dummy pixels arranged in a matrix form; and pixel drive sections adapted to control the pixel operations in such a manner as to operate an electronic shutter on and read the pixel section and dummy pixel section, wherein when an electronic rolling shutter is operated in which the pixels are shuttered row by row, the pixel drive sections judge whether the current and next frames are shuttered concurrently and in parallel so as to determine in which horizontal read period the dummy pixel section is to be shuttered.

Solid state imaging element and camera system that determine in which horizontal read period a dummy pixel section is to be shuttered

There is provided an image pickup device which eliminates the need for image processing different from one frame to another, and is capable of eliminating centroid displacement without additionally performing a centroid correction process, thereby improving an S/N ratio and image quality. A controllersequentially reads signals from all pixels when an operation mode control signal designates all-pixel readout mode, whereas, controls to read a signal from a different pixel while varying a readout position from one field to another when the operation mode control signal designates selective readout mode, and a signal processing sectionperforms signal processing on a set of field data of a single field to output resultant data as frame data when the operation mode control signal designates all-pixel readout mode, whereas, adds up plural sets of field data over a plurality of fields to output resultant data as frame data when the operation mode control signal designates selective readout mode.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Hiroaki Ebihara