Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica-minolta Holdings, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Other

Tsuyoshi Iwamoto

Koichi Kamon

Shigehiro Miyatake

Masayuki Kusuda

Michio Kadota

Takuji Hatano

Satoshi Masuda

Koujirou Sekine

Shinji Maruyama

Mitsuru Yokoyama

Tomokazu Kakumoto

Shunichi Hayamizu

Naoki Nishida

Kyu Takada

Miyuki Teramoto

A solid state image sensor and an image sensing apparatus incorporated with the solid state image sensor include: pixel arrays each provided with pixels, and an accumulating section e.g. a capacitor CX which sums up and accumulates signal charges obtained by exposure of an object with respect to a corresponding color at different timings when the signal charges are obtained by the pixels of each of the pixel arrays. A reset noise of a converting floating diffusion is outputted after the converting floating diffusion is reset. Thereafter, a summation of the reset noise, and the signal charges accumulated in the accumulating section is outputted.

Solid state image sensor adapted to remove noise

In a solid-state image sensing device, a method for driving the solid-state image sensing device, and an image sensing system incorporated with the solid-state image sensing device of the invention, pixel signals having two or more different photoelectric conversion characteristics to be outputted from a pixel section are amplified by using an analog gain with respect to each of the photoelectric conversion characteristics for outputting the amplified pixel signals. This enables to reproduce an image having a wide dynamic range while suppressing lowering of the frame rate.

Solid-state image sensing device, method for driving solid-state image sensing device, and image sensing system incorporated with solid-state image sensing device

A period when a relative movement between a document, and each of the pixel rows by a certain distance in the vertical direction is made is defined as a frame period, and the frame period is divided into a given number (i) of H periods. A certain H period is allocated as a readout period of each of the pixel rows so that each of the pixel rows reads an identical line of a document, depending on a vertical resolution set by a resolution setter.

Image reading device, and method for driving the same

There is described an image capturing apparatus, which makes it possible to unify the gradation characteristics all over the captured image into the same characteristic. The image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor that is provided with a first photoelectric conversion characteristic, a second photoelectric conversion characteristic being different from the first photoelectric conversion characteristic and a third photoelectric conversion characteristic being a transient characteristic between the first photoelectric conversion characteristic and the second photoelectric conversion characteristic; and a characteristic converting section to convert the first photoelectric conversion characteristic, the second photoelectric conversion characteristic and the third photoelectric conversion characteristic to a reference photoelectric conversion characteristic. The first photoelectric conversion characteristic is a linear characteristic, the second photoelectric conversion characteristic is a logarithmic characteristic and the reference photoelectric conversion characteristic is either a linear or a logarithmic characteristic.

Image capturing apparatus including an image sensor having three photoelectric conversion characteristics with each corresponding to a range of luminance intensity

A solid-state image sensing device is provided with n one-dimensional pixel arrays for sensing a document image by relative movement of the one-dimensional pixel arrays and the document image in a scanning direction. The solid-state image sensing device includes: an image readout circuit, commonly provided for the one-dimensional pixel arrays, for performing a horizontal readout operation from the one-dimensional pixel arrays with respect to image data acquired by sensing the document image, wherein a pixel array pitch of the one-dimensional pixel arrays in the scanning direction is set to at least (n+1)/n times as large as a pixel width of each of pixels constituting the one-dimensional pixel arrays in the scanning direction, where the symbol 'n' represents a positive integer of 2 or more, and the symbol '/' represents division.

Solid-state image sensing device

On a waveguideformed on a substrate, a plurality of comblike shaped electrodesthat generate surface acoustic wavesfrom different directions are provided. And a periodic refractive indices portionis formed, where the refractive indices are periodically distributed in accordance with the wavelengths of the surface acoustic wavesgenerated by applying a voltage to the comblike shaped electrodes. And by changing a frequency of the applying voltage for sequentially changing the wavelengths of the surface acoustic wavesthe exiting direction of the light exiting from the periodic refractive indices portionis scanned. This makes it possible to provide an optical functional device and an optical scanning apparatus that perform light scanning less costly but at a high speed, and that can secure a wide scanning angle.

Optical functional device and optical integrated device

An acousto-optic deflector which has a thin film waveguide layer on a buffer layer formed on a substrate and an IDT and light incidence/emergence means on the thin film waveguide layer. As the thin film waveguide layer, a piezoelectric material such as a ZnO film is used. As the substrate, a material with a resistivity of not more than 20 &OHgr;cm is used. Sezawa waves are excited on the thin film waveguide layer by the IDT, and a laser beam traveling in the thin film waveguide layer is deflected by the Sezawa waves. If the ZnO thin film waveguide layer has a thickness of h and if the excited Sezawa waves have a wavelength of &lgr;, 0.2<h/&lgr;<0.5 is fulfilled.

Optical waveguide, acousto-optic deflector and manufacturing method thereof

A thin film waveguide and an optical deflecting device which have a substrate and a waveguide layer. An optical buffer layer which has a refractive index smaller than that of the waveguide layer is provided between the substrate and the waveguide layer, and the optical buffer layer has such a thickness as to make a zero mode guided light beam progressing in the waveguide layer have a propagation loss not more than 2 dB/cm and as to make a first mode guided light beam progressing in the waveguide layer have a propagation loss not less than 4 dB/cm. For example, the waveguide layer is a ZnO thin film, the substrate is a silicon substrate, and the optical buffer layer is a SiO.sub.2 thin film. Further, an interdigital transducer is provided on the waveguide layer to excite Sezawa waves as surface acoustic waves. For example, the waveguide layer is designed to have a thickness which meets the following condition: 1.0&lt;hK&lt;5.0 (K=2 .pi./.LAMBDA.), wherein, h is the thickness of the waveguide layer, and .LAMBDA. is the wavelengths of the Sezawa waves. Furthermore, a conductor film is provided opposite the interdigital transducer with the waveguide layer in-between.

Thin film optical waveguide and optical deflecting device

An optical deflector which has a waveguide, an interdigital transducer which is provided on the waveguide to convert a high-frequency signal to excite surface acoustic waves, a light incidence section for making a light beam incident to the waveguide and a light emergence section for making a light beam progressing in the waveguide emergent therefrom, and a scanning optical system provided with the optical deflector. The interdigital transducer is a chirp type and has finger electrodes which are so designed that an emergent light beam from the optical deflector will have a substantially fixed intensity in a deflection range. More specifically, the finger electrodes of the interdigital transducer are overlap-weighted so that an emergent light beam from the optical deflector will have a substantially fixed intensity in a deflection range. It is possible that the finger electrodes of the interdigital transducer have fixed widths and intervals thereamong at a portion which excites surface acoustic waves with a end frequency portion of a frequency band. Also, the interdigital transducer may have smaller variation in intervals of the finger electrodes at a portion which excites surface acoustic waves with a end frequency portion of a frequency band than at a portion which excites surface acoustic waves with a central frequency portion of the frequency band.

Optical deflector and scanning optical system provided with the optical

The disclosed acousto-optic scanning device includes a thin film waveguide of piezoelectric material (2), a transducer (3) for generating surface elastic waves, and a high frequency signal generator (4) for generating high frequency signals to be applied to the transducer. Additionally, the device includes a light source (10), light source driver (11) for driving the light source, a prism or grating input and output light couplers (7, 8 or 27, 28) for introducing light emitted from the light source into the thin film waveguide and for outputting light transmitted through the thin film waveguide therefrom. Further, the device includes non-coupled light photodiode detector array (14) for detecting the position and intensity of light which is not coupled by the output light coupling means, and a signal processor for processing information detected by the non-coupled light detector array and generating control signals to correct the position and intensity of coupled light.

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Nishinomiya, Japan

Tsuyoshi Iwamoto