Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Motonori Ishii

Shinzo Koyama

Shigeru Saitou

Masato Takemoto

Yutaka Hirose

Shigetaka Kasuga

Yoshiyuki Matsunaga

Tokuhiko Tamaki

Ryohei Miyagawa

Hirohisa Ohtsuki

Kimiaki Toshikiyo

Mitsuyoshi Mori

Kazutoshi Onozawa

Toshinobu Matsuno

Takanori Yogo

Yoshihisa Kato

Akito Inoue

Shota Yamada

Hiroshi Koshida

Keisuke Yazawa

Yasuhiro Shimada

Tsuyoshi Tanaka

Susumu Fukushima

Keisuke Tanaka

Toru Okino

Yusuke Okada

Yusuke Sakata

Kazuo Fujiwara

Sanzo Ugawa

Yusuke Otake

Yusuke Fukushima

A solid state image sensor includes at least a plurality of pixel cells and a vertical scanning circuit. Each of the pixel cells includes an avalanche photodiode, a floating diffusion portion, a transfer transistor, a reset transistor, an amplifier transistor, a selection transistor, a count transistor, and a capacitor. The amplifier transistor outputs a voltage signal responsive to the amount of charge stored in the floating diffusion portion. The capacitor has terminals one of which is connected to the count transistor. The vertical scanning circuit is configured to be able to supply different levels of voltages to the other terminals of the capacitors.

Solid-state imaging sensor

A photodetector includes a plurality of pixels and a common reset line connected to the pixels, and each of the pixels includes: an avalanche photodiode; a quenching transistor that includes a gate and a source which are connected to the cathode of the avalanche photodiode; and a photodiode reset transistor that includes a source and a drain one of which is connected to the drain of the quenching transistor and the other of which is connected to the common reset line.

Photodetector, solid-state imaging device, and distance measuring device

A solid-state imaging device includes: pixels arranged in a matrix; a vertical signal line provided for each column, conveying a pixel signal; a power line provided for each column, proving a power supply voltage; and a feedback signal line provided for each column, conveying a signal from a peripheral circuit to a pixel, in which each of the pixels includes: an N-type diffusion layer; a photoelectric conversion element above the N-type diffusion layer; and a charge accumulation node between the N-type diffusion layer and the photoelectric conversion element, accumulating signal charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element, the feedback signal line, a metal line which is a part of the charge accumulation node, the vertical signal line, and the power line are disposed in a second interconnect layer, and the vertical signal line and the power line are disposed between the feedback signal line and the metal line.

Solid-state imaging device

An imaging device including a photoelectric converter that generates signal charge; a charge storage region that stores the signal charge; a first transistor that has a gate coupled to the charge storage region and reads out the signal charge; a second transistor that has a source and a drain, an output of the first transistor being fed back to one of the source and the drain and being supplied to the charge storage region from the other of the source and the drain; and voltage supply circuitry that supplies voltages varying with time. In a reset operation for discharging the signal charge stored in the charge storage region, the voltage supply circuitry supplies the voltages to a gate of the second transistor.

Solid-state imaging apparatus and method of driving the same

An imaging device includes: a solid-state imaging element having a plurality of pixel cells arranged in a matrix; and a signal processing part configured to process a detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells. The pixel cells each include an avalanche photodiode and output a voltage corresponding to a count number of photons received by the avalanche photodiode as the detection signal. The signal processing part includes a variation calculation part configured to calculate a variation between the pixel cells in the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, and a correction calculation part configured to correct the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, on the basis of the variation calculated by the variation calculation part.

Imaging device

An imaging device includes: a solid-state imaging element having a plurality of pixel cells arranged in a matrix; and a control part configured to control the solid-state imaging element. The pixel cells each include an avalanche photodiode, a floating diffusion part configured to accumulate electric charges, a transfer transistor connecting a cathode of the avalanche photodiode and the floating diffusion part, and a reset transistor for resetting electric charges accumulated in the floating diffusion part. The control part controls the reset transistor to discharge electric charges exceeding a predetermined electric charge amount, of electric charges accumulated in the floating diffusion part from the cathode of the avalanche photodiode via the transfer transistor.

Imaging device for reducing variations of amounts of electric charges accumulated in floating diffusion regions

A distance measuring device is to be connected to a wave transmitter and a wave receiver. The distance measuring device includes a distance measuring unit, which calculates a distance to the target based on a time interval between transmission of a measuring wave from a wave transmitter and reception of the measuring wave at a wave receiver. The target may be present across a preceding distance range and a succeeding distance range which are continuous with each other and both of which belong to a plurality of distance ranges defined by dividing a measurable distance range. In such a situation, the distance measuring unit calculates the distance to the target based on respective amounts of a preceding wave received at the wave receiver over a period corresponding to the preceding distance range and a succeeding wave received at the wave receiver over a period corresponding to the succeeding distance range.

Distance measuring device, distance measuring system, distance measuring method, and program

A distance measuring device is to be connected to a wave transmission module to transmit a measuring wave and a wave reception module including a first wave receiver and a second wave receiver, both of which receive the measuring wave reflected from a target. In this distance measuring device, a first wave reception period in which the first wave receiver receives the measuring wave and a second wave reception period in which the second wave receiver receives the measuring wave overlap with each other on a time axis. In addition, in this distance measuring device, a time lag is provided between respective beginning times of the first and second wave reception periods. The time lag is shorter than either the first wave reception period or the second wave reception period.

A distance measurement device includes: an image capturer that captures N segmental images corresponding to N segmental distances into which a distance measurement range is divided; and a range image generator that generates a range image from the N segmental images. The range image generator determines: among segmental pixels included in the N segmental images, a segmental pixel having a maximum signal value from N segmental pixels at the same pixel position among pixel positions; a value indicating a segmental distance of the segmental pixel having the maximum signal value to be a distance value of the pixel position of the range image, when the maximum signal value is greater than or equal to a threshold; and a value indicating a value outside the distance measurement range to be the distance value of the pixel position of the range image, when the maximum signal value is less than the threshold.

Distance measurement device and image generation method

A driver circuit includes: a first node connected to a first signal line; a first switch transistor provided between a first power supply and a first capacitor; a second switch transistor provided between a second power supply and a second capacitor; a third switch transistor provided between the first capacitor and the first node; and a fourth switch transistor provided between the second capacitor and the first node.

Solid-state imaging device, distance measuring device, and distance measuring method

A photodetector includes: at least one avalanche photodiode including a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type and a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type; a first transistor connected to the first semiconductor layer and including a channel of the second conductivity type that has polarity opposite to polarity of the first conductivity type; and a second transistor connected to the first semiconductor layer and including a channel of the first conductivity type.

Photodetector, photodetector array, and drive method comprising a second transistor including a channel of first conductivity type and a first transistor including a channel of second conductivity type that has polarity opposite to polarity of the first conductivity type

An imaging device including: a photoelectric converter that generates signal charge; a charge storage region that stores the signal charge; a first transistor that has a gate coupled to the charge storage region and reads out the signal charge; a second transistor that, has a source and a drain, an output of the first transistor being fed back to one of the source and the drain and being supplied to the charge storage region from the other of the source and the drain; and voltage supply circuitry that supplies voltages varying with time. In a reset operation for discharging the signal charge stored in the charge storage region, the voltage supply circuitry supplies the voltages to a gate of the second transistor so that the second transistor gradually changes from an OFF state to an ON state.

A distance measuring device includes a light emitter; a light receiver; a protection cover that is located on an optical path between the light emitter and the light receiver; a mode switch that switches between a first mode and a second mode; a distance calculator that calculates a distance from a target object based on a difference between a time when light is emitted from the light emitter and a time when reflected light is received by the light receiver in the first mode; and an LD light emission intensity adjuster that adjusts a light emission intensity of the light emitter. The adjustment is performed such that a light emission intensity of the light emitter in the second mode is lower than a light emission intensity of the light emitter in the first mode.

Distance measuring device

An image recognition device includes a light source that emits lighting pulses to a measurement space, a image generator that generates a distance image based on reflected light acquired by a light receiving element, a reflectivity calculator that calculates a correction coefficient corresponding to a reflectivity for each measurement section, and a lighting pulse controller that controls a number of lighting pulses emitted from the light source according to the correction coefficient for each measurement section.

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Osaka, Japan

Motonori Ishii