Panasonic Corporation

Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan

Takuya Nohara

Takuya Asano

Yoshiaki Kato

Sei Suzuki

An imaging apparatus includes: an infrared light source; and a solid-state imaging device. The solid-state imaging device includes: light receivers that convert incident light from the subject to signal charges; a signal storage that stores the signal charges; a signal drain into which the signal charges are discharged; microlenses disposed on the light receivers; and openings through which the incident light enters the light receivers. The solid-state imaging device reads and discharges the signal charges in response to a signal drain voltage being switched between on and off. Each microlens is disposed such that the center of the microlens is displaced toward the center of the pixel array from the center of the corresponding light receiver, as the position of the microlens is closer to the perimeter of the pixel array. The openings have different shapes according to the positions of the openings in the pixel array.

Imaging apparatus and solid-state imaging device used therein

A solid-state imaging device includes photoelectric conversion units, vertical transfer units including vertical transfer electrodes, a horizontal transfer unit, a distribution transfer unit including distribution transfer electrodes, and first light-shield layers and second light-shield layers provided on the vertical transfer units and the distribution transfer unit. The first light-shield layers and the second light-shield layers are conductive. The first light-shield layers are provided in a layer different from a layer in which the second light-shield layers are provided. At least one of the first light-shield layers serves as an interconnect electrically connected to the vertical transfer electrodes included in the same row, and at least one of the first light-shield layers on the distribution transfer unit serves as an interconnect electrically connected the distribution transfer electrodes. The first light-shield layers are disposed so as not to overlap with the horizontal transfer unit.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Takuya Nohara