Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Tsutomu Nakamura

Kazuya Matsumoto

Jun-ichi Nishizawa

Hiroshi Matsuzaki

Tadashi Morokuma

Masahiko Kato

Shigeru Hosokai

Toyokazu Mizoguchi

Kenji Miyata

Tetsuo Nomoto

A solid-state image pickup apparatus having over solid-state image pickup device chip a hermetic seal portion comprising a flat-plate portion of a transparent member and a frame portion formed on a side portion of a lower surface of the flat-plate portion, said frame portion including a metal wiring, a bump formed on said solid-state image pickup device chip and electrically connected to the metal wiring, and a sealing region for sealing the periphery of the bump by a sealing material, thereby achieving the solid-state image pickup apparatus capable of being packaged in a relatively small size and capable of improving throughput and at the same time having a hermetic seal portion which can be readily electrically connected to an external terminal.

Solid-state image pickup apparatus having a hermetic seal portion and fabricating method thereof

A treating tool for use in combination with an endoscope includes a sheath with a biopsy treating section provided at its distal end and adapted to be rotated with the treating section as one unit, an operation wire inserted in the sheath and adapted to transmit an operation force to the treating section, a treating section open/close operation section for operating the treating section through the operation wire, and a sheath rotation operation section equipped with an operation mechanism for rotating the sheath.

Treating tool for an endoscope

A two-dimensional rangefinding sensor of the present invention consisting of an illuminating device for projecting light beams, which undergoes luminance modulation at a predetermined frequency for a predetermined duration with a predetermined cycle time, onto an object, an image-formation optical system for forming an image of the object illuminated with light beams which have undergone the luminance modulation and which have been projected from the illuminating device, a two-dimensional image sensor mounted on an image-formation plane of the image-formation optical system, a driving means for performing a modulation driving operation on an electrode terminal, which is operative to determine the sensitivity of the two-dimensional image sensor at the frequency, and a reading means for reading a signal corresponding to a signal charge generated in each of picture elements of the image sensors. Thereby, a range-data image of a three-dimensional object can be obtained by using a two-dimensional image sensor without mechanically scanning with illumination light.

Two-dimensional rangefinding sensor

In a solid state imaging device having a group of pixels arrayed in the form of a matrix, after a vertical scanning circuit delivers a drive signal for one first switching element, a horizontal scanning circuit is driven to sequentially read out pixel signals from the respective pixels on one predetermined row line to a signal output line, and one second switching element connected to another row line, from which pixel signals have been read out one horizontal scanning period before the readout for the predetermined row line, is driven to reset the respective pixels connected to another said row line upon the driving of the horizontal scanning circuit. Both the readout and reset operations for the respective pixels are point-sequentially performed so that periods of time integrating the pixels at all the positions on the imaging device can be made equal to each other.

Solid state imaging device

A photoelectric conversion device comprises a control circuit for applying a control signal to a control electrode of a photoelectric transducer, an operating point detection circuit for receiving an output signal from the photoelectric transducer and inverting an output state thereof depending on a level of the output signal, and a sample/hold circuit controlled by an output of the operating point detection circuit to hold a signal level corresponding to the control signal as developed when the output state of the operating point detection circuit is inverted, the signal held by the sample/hold circuit being read as a photoelectrically converted output. Photoelectric conversion characteristics thereby exhibits good linearity.

Photoelectric conversion device

A disclosed solid state image pick-up element is constructed by a lateral static induction transistor in which source and drain regions thereof are arranged in a surface of a semiconductor layer formed on a substrate and a gate region for storing a light charge completely surrounds at least one of the source region and the drain region, whereby a source-drain current flows in parallel with the surface of the semiconductor layer. Moreover, a disclosed solid state image sensor utilizing the solid state image pick-up element mentioned above further includes a biasing means for inversely biasing the source and drain regions during a light signal storing period.

Solid state image sensor including static induction transistor with gate

A semiconductor imaging device includes lateral MOS static induction transistors including: a semiconductor layer formed on an insulating substrate or a high-resistance semiconductor substrate; and picture elements arranged in the form of a matrix over the surface of the semiconductor layer, the picture elements respectively constituted by lateral MOS static induction transistors each having a source region and a drain region both of which serve as main electrodes and a gate region for storing therein a photoelectric signal. Isolating regions are formed between the respective picture elements vertically or laterally on the matrix so that the picture elements which are adjacent to each other vertically or laterally share their source and drain regions with each other. Accordingly, each of the gate regions constitutes in combination with the adjacent source or drain region an equivalent unit picture element, thereby improving the density of picture-element formation.

Semiconductor imaging device

A solid state imaging apparatus includes an internal amplification type of light-receiving element which constitutes a picture element, a signal processing circuit incorporating a pre-amplifier for processing a video signal current of the light-receiving element constituting a picture element, an internal amplification type of reference light-receiving element which is shielded from light illumination, a feedback loop provided in the pre-amplifier for controlling the gate voltage of the reference light-receiving element such that a current having the same value as that of the video signal current of the light-receiving element constituting a picture element is caused to flow to the reference light-receiving element, and means for discharging the dark current charge accumulated in the reference light-receiving element in the period during which the video signal current from the light-receiving element constituting the picture element is suspended. Therefore, the reference light-receiving element functions as a negative feedback element of the pre-amplifier, by means of which the gate voltage of the reference light-receiving element is varied such that a source current which is equivalent to that of the light-receiving element constituting a picture element is caused to flow therethrough under the same bias conditions as in the case of the light-receiving element constituting a picture element, enabling an output which is linear to the quantity of light which is received to be produced as the output of the pre-amplifier.

Solid state imaging apparatus

A solid state image sensor having a number of pixels each including a lateral type static induction transistor (LSITs) and arranged in matrix of mxn, gate terminals of LSITs arranged on respective rows are connected to outputs of a vertical scanning circuit to receive selection signals .phi..sub.G1, .phi..sub.G2 . . . .phi..sub.Gm successively, drain terminals of all LSITs being commonly connected to a video bias voltage source and source terminals of LSITs aligned on respective columns being connected to the ground potential via a load resistor by means of column selection transistors whose gate terminals are connected to outputs of a horizontal scanning circuit to receive selection signals .phi..sub.S1, .phi..sub.S2 . . . .phi..sub.Sn successively. Respective LSITs are selected by the source-gate selection method and a video signal is derived by a source follower configuration.

Solid state image sensor with lateral-type stactic induction transistors

A solid state image sensor including a number of lateral type static induction transistors arranged in a matrix, sources of all transistors being commonly connected to ground potential, gates of transistors arranged in each row being commonly connected to respective row lines and drains of transistors arranged in each column commonly connected to respective column lines, a vertical scanning circuit connected to the row lines, a plurality of column selection transistors each connected between respective column lines and a video output line, and a horizontal scanning circuit connected to gates of the column selection transistors. After one row has been read out, photocarriers stored in transistors belonging to the relevant row are simultaneously discharged by means of a reset signal supplied from the vertical scanning circuit. Then any excessive amounts of photocarriers stored in the transistors are discharged away by means of clear signals supplied from the vertical scanning circuit every time transistors belonging to another row are reset.

Solid state image sensor having means to reset and clear static

In a solid state image sensor including a plurality of light receiving elements in a matrix manner, each light receiving element is composed of a static induction transistor having a MOS gate construction formed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate and having a potential barrier formed in a vertical direction perpendicular to the semiconductor substrate surface. Therefore, a self-alignment process can be preferably applied to a formation of the solid state image sensor, so that the light receiving elements can be integrated in an easy and simple manner.

Solid state image sensor

In a solid state image pick-up element of static induction transistor type having an n.sup.+ source region, an n.sup.+ drain region, an n.sup.- channel region formed between the source and drain regions and a p.sup.+ signal storing gate region formed in the channel region for storing charge carriers induced in the channel region in response to light input, an n.sup.+ resetting region is formed in the signal storing gate region to form a p-n junction therebetween and an electrode is provided on the resetting region to control a bias voltage applied to the resetting region. Upon a resetting operation, when the p-n junction is selectively biased in the forward direction, it is possible to completely discharge charge carriers stored in thegate region through the resetting region in an accurate manner. Since the resetting region is formed in the signal storing gate region, the integration density is not reduced.

Solid state image pick-up element of static induction transistor type

A solid state image sensor including a number of pixels each of which has a source region, a drain region and a signal readout gate electrode having a portion formed between the source and drain regions, a light receiving gate electrode formed separately from the signal readout gate electrode, and a transfer gate electrode, the source and drain regions being formed in a surface of an epitaxial layer and the light receiving gate electrode, transfer gate electrode and signal readout gate electrode being formed on the epitaxial layer via a gate insulating film. After light signal charges have been stored underneath the light receiving gate electrode for a desired shutter open period in all pixels, the light signal charges are transferred into portions in the epitaxial layer underneath the signal readout gate electrodes via the transfer gate electrodes. Then, the light signal charges are successively readout by means of an XY address system to derive an output video signal.

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Ina, Japan

Tsutomu Nakamura