Renesas Electronics Corporation

Tatsuya Kitamori

Fumihide Murao

Katsumi Dosaka

Kyoji Yamasaki

Fumiyasu Sasaki

Ryota Otake

In an image sensor according to related art, charge information cannot be read at the same time from a pair of photoelectric conversion elements placed corresponding to one microlens. According to one embodiment, an image sensor includes a first photoelectric conversion element and a second photoelectric conversion element placed corresponding to one microlens, a first transfer transistor placed corresponding to the first photoelectric conversion element and a second transfer transistor placed corresponding to the second photoelectric conversion element, a read timing signal line that supplies a common read timing signal to the first transfer transistor and the second transfer transistor, a first output line that outputs a signal of the first photoelectric conversion element to the outside, and a second output line that outputs a signal of the second photoelectric conversion element to the outside.

Image sensor

In order to provide an imaging device suitable for suppressing a reduction of the frame rate without deteriorating the image quality, a sensor includes two photodiodes for receiving incident light through a microlens, a first transfer transistor that transfers the output electric charges of the first photodiode when a first transfer control signal becomes active, a second transfer transistor that transfers the output electric charges of the second photodiode when a second transfer control signal becomes active, a first output signal line that transmits a first pixel signal depending on the transferred electric charges by the first transfer transistor, and a second output signal line that transmits a second pixel signal depending on the transferred electric charges by the second transfer transistor.

Imaging device, camera system, and imaging method

To solve the problem of conventional image sensing devices that require much time for reading pixel signals, an image sensing device according to an embodiment includes a first pixel unit coupled to a first vertical read line, a second pixel unit coupled to a second vertical read line and placed in the column of the first pixel unit, a first transfer switch provided at an end of the first read line, and a second transfer switch provided at an end of the second read line. When the first transfer switch is controlled to be closed and the second transfer switch is controlled to be conductive, the image sensing device performs a reset process of the vertical read line by a dark level signal output from the second pixel unit, and a conversion process of the dark level read from the first pixel unit, and the pixel signal into digital values.

Image sensing device

A related art imaging device is accompanied by the problem that it must perform read processing on pixel data generated within pixel units for every row, and an SN ratio of the pixel data is not capable of being enhanced sufficiently. According to one embodiment, an imaging device has common floating diffusion wirings and floating diffusion switches which switch whether or not to couple floating diffusions of a plurality of pixel units arranged in a column direction, and combines pixel data generated by the pixel units in the floating diffusions coupled within the pixel units.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tatsuya Kitamori