Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd.

Hiroyuki Amikawa

Yasuyuki Endoh

Takayasu Kito

Makoto Ikuma

Tetsuya Abe

Yoshihiro Sato

Junji Hirase

Yuuko Tomekawa

Junichi Matsuo

Takahiro Koyanagi

Shinichi Ogita

Takahiro Muroshima

Katsumi Tokuyama

Masashi Murakami

Kenichi Origasa

Hiroshi Fujinaka

Masahiro Higuchi

An imaging device having a semiconductor substrate including: a semiconductor region including an impurity of a first conductivity type, a first diffusion region that is in contact with the semiconductor region, that includes an impurity of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, and that converts incident light into charges, and a second diffusion region that includes an impurity of the second conductivity type and that directly accumulates at least a part of the charges generated in the first diffusion region. The imaging device further includes a contact plug in contact with the second diffusion region, and a capacitive element electrically connected to the second diffusion region through the contact plug.

Imaging device with multiple diffusion regions and capacitor element

An imaging device includes: a semiconductor substrate; a first photoelectric converter which is disposed in the semiconductor substrate; a second photoelectric converter different from the first photoelectric converter, which is disposed in the semiconductor substrate; a wiring layer disposed on or above the semiconductor substrate; and a capacitor which is disposed in the wiring layer and surrounds the first photoelectric converter in plan view. The capacitor includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a dielectric layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode is connected to one of the first photoelectric converter and the second photoelectric converter.

Imaging device having capacitor surrounding first photoelectric converter in plan view

An imaging device includes a semiconductor substrate including a semiconductor region including an impurity of a first conductivity type, a first diffusion region that is in contact with the semiconductor region, that includes an impurity of a second conductivity type, and that converts incident light into charges, and a second diffusion region that includes an impurity of the second conductivity type and that accumulates at least a part of the charges flowing from the first diffusion region, a first transistor that includes a first gate electrode and that includes the second diffusion region as one of a source and a drain, a contact plug electrically connected to the second diffusion region, a capacitive element one end of which is electrically connected to the contact plug, and a second transistor that includes a second gate electrode, the second gate electrode being electrically connected to the one end of the capacitive element.

Imaging device

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of high-sensitivity pixels that are arranged in a matrix, and perform a photoelectric conversion at a predetermined sensitivity; a plurality of low-sensitivity pixels that are arranged in a matrix in gaps between the plurality of high-sensitivity pixels, and perform a photoelectric conversion at a lower sensitivity than the predetermined sensitivity; and a signal processor that generates a pixel signal by (i) detecting a difference signal between a signal from the plurality of high-sensitivity pixels and a signal from the plurality of low-sensitivity pixels, and (ii) correcting the signal from the plurality of high-sensitivity pixels using the difference signal.

Solid-state imaging apparatus and imaging apparatus

A solid-state imaging device includes: a pixel including a photoelectric converter that generates a charge and a charge accumulator that converts the charge into a voltage; a controller that causes the pixel to perform exposure in a first exposure mode and convert the charge into the voltage with a first gain to output a first pixel signal, and causes the pixel to perform exposure in a second exposure mode and convert the charge into the voltage with a second gain to output a second pixel signal, the second exposure mode being shorter in exposure time than the first exposure mode, and the second gain being lower than the first gain; and a signal processor that synthesizes the second pixel signal after amplification and the first pixel signal.

Solid-state imaging device and imaging apparatus

A solid-state imaging device includes: a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in rows and columns; a plurality of column signal lines which are provided in one-to-one correspondence with pixel columns; a column processor including a plurality of column AD circuits provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of column signal lines; a power supply variation detector which is connected to a power supply wire through which a power supply voltage is transmitted to each of the pixels, and which detects, in correspondence with pixel rows, power supply variation components attributed to variations in the power supply voltage; and a power supply variation corrector which corrects, for each of the pixel rows, a pixel signal detected by the column processor, using the power supply variation components detected by the power supply variation detector.

Solid-state imaging device and imaging device capable of correcting pixel signal

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a pixel array, a column processor, and a test signal generating circuit that generates a first digital signal for testing purposes. The test signal generating circuit generates the first digital signal within one horizontal scanning period. The column processor converts a first analog signal, that is converted from the first digital signal, to a second digital signal within the one horizontal scanning period.

A solid-state imaging device includes: a plurality of unit cells each including at least one light receiving unit and an amplifying transistor which outputs an amplified signal corresponding to an amount of the signal charge photoelectrically converted by the light receiving unit; a plurality of vertical signal lines each for receiving an output signal from the amplifying transistor; a pixel power supply line for supplying a power supply voltage to the amplifying transistor; a plurality of constant current source transistors each connected to a different one of the vertical signal lines; and a bias circuit which controls an amount of current to be supplied to each of the constant current source transistors, based on a variation in the power supply voltage.

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of pixel cells arranged in a pixel array unit, a vertical signal line and a pixel power supply line each connected to a source electrode and a drain electrode of an amplifying transistor, a Pch transistor for supplying potential AVDD to the vertical signal line, a Pch transistor for supplying potential PBIAS_H higher than the potential AVDD to the vertical signal line, a Pch transistor for supplying the potential PBIAS_H to the pixel power supply line, wherein while the transfer transistor is turned ON and transfers signal charges photoelectrically converted by a photodiode to the floating diffusion portion, the Pch transistors are turned ON and the potential PBIAS_H is applied to the vertical signal line and the pixel power supply line.

Solid-state imaging apparatus, method for driving the same, and imaging apparatus

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a pixel array in which pixels are arranged in a matrix. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion element, a transfer transistor, an amplifier transistor, and a reset transistor. The pixel array an effective pixel part in which light enters the photoelectric conversion element and which is configured to output a video signal, an optical black pixel part in which the photoelectric conversion element is shielded from light and which is configured to output a reference signal, and a dummy pixel part. Of pixels connected to the same signal output line, effective pixels of the effective pixel part are configured such that a first potential is supplied from the reset transistor to a floating diffusion part, and clipping pixels of the dummy pixel part are configured such that a second potential is supplied from the reset transistor to the floating diffusion part.

Solid-state imaging apparatus and method for driving the same

A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel array, control lines TG each provided for a corresponding one of rows of pixels and configured to control, e.g., operation of a transfer transistor, and a driver circuitconfigured to control the operation of the transfer transistor through the control lines TG and connected to a power-supply line TGL. The solid-state imaging device performs all reset operation for resetting signal charges of all pixels by the driver circuitand reading operation for reading a pixel signal from each row of the pixels. An impedance controllerconfigured to control an impedance value for power-supply line TGL in the reading operation to be less than an impedance value for power-supply line TGL in the all reset operation is provided.

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Kyoto, Japan

Hiroyuki Amikawa