Olympus Corporation

Naofumi Sakaguchi

Hideki Kato

Yuichi Gomi

Naoto Fukuoka

Shinichi Nakajima

Yoshiaki Takemoto

This solid-state imaging device includes a first substrate and a second substrate which have circuit elements constituting pixels disposed therein are electrically connected to each other. The pixels includes: a photoelectric conversion element disposed in the first substrate; an amplifier circuit that amplifies a signal generated in the photoelectric conversion element to output the amplified signal; a signal accumulation circuit which is disposed in the second substrate and accumulates the amplified signal which is output from the amplifier circuit; and an output circuit that outputs the amplified signal accumulated in the signal accumulation circuit from the pixel.

Solid-state imaging device, imaging device, and signal reading method

There are provided a first semiconductor substrate in which a plurality of photoelectric conversion circuits, which are some circuit elements of the pixel cells including the photoelectric conversion unit, are formed in a two-dimensional matrix, a second semiconductor substrate in which a plurality of memory circuits, which are some other circuit elements of the pixel cells, are formed in a two-dimensional matrix, wherein the some other circuit elements of the pixel cells include memory units that correspond to the photoelectric conversion circuits, store electric signals output by the photoelectric conversion units, and output pixel signals according to the electric signals, and a connection electrode electrically connected to a signal line of the photoelectric conversion circuits and a signal line of the memory circuits, wherein the pixel cells are divided into a plurality of pixel groups in which the pixel cells are combined so that adjacent pixel cells are not included if pixel cells corresponding to light beams of the same wavelength band are considered to be arranged on one surface, wherein the same connection electrode is shared between the photoelectric conversion circuits and between the memory circuits of the pixel cells included in the same pixel group, and wherein signal lines of the photoelectric conversion circuits and signal lines of the memory circuits of the pixel cells included in different pixel groups are connected by different connection electrodes.

Solid-state imaging device

A solid-state image-capturing device has a plurality of pixels and first and second substrates in which circuit elements constituting the pixels are arranged and which are electrically connected through a connection unit. The solid-state image-capturing device includes: a photoelectric conversion element included in the pixel of the first substrate; a first current source; a first amplification transistor having a source or a drain connected to the first current source and a gate to which a signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element is input; a second current source; a switch configured to switch ON and OFF of a connection between a vertical signal line and the second current source and to be turned off when the gate of the first amplification transistor is reset; a voltage output circuit configured to output a power supply voltage to the vertical signal line when the gate of the first amplification transistor is reset.

Solid-state image-capturing device and image-capturing device

A solid-state image pickup device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a first substrate including first pixels arranged in a matrix; and a second substrate electrically coupled to the first substrate and including second pixels arranged in a matrix. The first pixel including a photoelectric conversion element configured to generate a color signal corresponding to an m-th color is the first pixel corresponding to the m-th color where m is an integer equal to one of 1 to n. The second pixel including the signal storing circuit configured to store the color signal corresponding to the m-th color is the second pixel corresponding to the m-th color. At least two second pixels of the second pixels corresponding to the same color are arranged in the same column on the second substrate.

Solid-state image pickup device and color signal reading method including a plurality of electrically-coupled substrates

Solid-state imaging device, imaging device, and signal reading medium that accumulates an amplified signal without digitization

A solid-state imaging device generates signals by photoelectric conversion elements included in a first substrate in which circuit elements of a plurality of pixels are arranged. The solid-state imaging device outputs, from the plurality of pixels via output circuits, the signals that are generated by the photoelectric conversion elements and are via connection parts that electrically connect the first substrate with a second substrate, the output circuits being included in the second substrate.

Solid-state imaging device and imaging apparatus

A solid-state imaging apparatus including: a pixel section having two-dimensionally arranged pixels each containing a photoelectric conversion device for converting a light signal into a signal electric charge and accumulating the signal electric charge, an amplification means for amplifying and outputting as a pixel signal the signal electric charges accumulated at the photoelectric conversion device, a transfer means for transferring the accumulated signal electric charges to the amplification means, and a reset means for resetting the signal electric charges; a vertical scanning section for outputting a vertical scanning signal to drive/control the pixel section row by row; and a vertical selecting section for generating a row transfer signal in accordance with the vertical scanning signal to drive the transfer means and for generating a row reset signal having a falling edge delayed by a predetermined amount from the row transfer signal to drive the reset means.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Naofumi Sakaguchi