Nippon Steel Corporation

Yasumitsu Ohta

Koichi Kitamura

Hidenori Mimura

Kazuo Yamamoto

Kazuyoshi Sai

Atsushi Kawasaki

Tamio Saito

Takashi Sawafuji

Kazuhiko Kawamura

Youichi Nagatake

Noboru Otani

A contact type image sensor including a plurality of photodiodes for converting a light signal into an electric signal according to the intensity of the light and a plurality of blocking diodes, arranged in either a back-to-back or a front-to-front connection with the photodiodes, for functioning as switching elements to have the information stored on the photodiodes read out, and adapted to be driven by a matrix drive system. For a back-to-back connection of the blocking diodes and photodiodes, a control circuit maintains the potential difference between cathodes of the photodiodes at zero volts at all times. Similarly, for a front-to-front connection of the blocking diodes and photodiodes, a control/drive circuit maintains the potential difference between the anodes of the photodiodes at zero volts at all times. Since the potential difference between the cathodes (for the back-to-back connection) or anodes (for the front-to-front connection) of all of the photodiodes is always maintained at zero volts, crosstalk at crossover portions between output lines connected to the photodiodes is reduced.

Contact type image sensor

An image sensor module suitable for use in a handy-type image input apparatus comprises an image sensor device which has connection terminals only on one side and the opposite side of the image sensor device is trued up with an edge portion of a module substrate on which the image sensor device is fixed.

Image sensor module for handy-type image input apparatus

A complete-contact type image sensor includes matrix-driven sensor elements arranged on a light transmitting substrate. Both input contact members connected with the sensor elements at their input side and output contact members connected with the sensor elements at their output side are formed at one same side on the light transmitting substrate. By virtue of this arrangement, the sensor elements and an original are brought into close contact, thereby improving the MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) and reducing the width of the light transmitting substrate.

Complete-contact type image sensor

A photoelectric transducer device including a plurality of sensor elements made up of photodiodes and blocking diodes on a substrate, connected into a linear pattern which extends in a primary scanning direction, the sensor elements to be driven in a suitable sequence to read image data from an original document. Each sensor element include a first lower electrode formed on the substrate, a second lower electrode, formed on the substrate and electrically separated from the first electrode, a photodiode formed on the first electrode, a blocking diode formed on the second electrode for preventing crosstalk, and an upper electrode formed on the photodiode and blocking diode for electrically connecting them. Lead wires for connecting the sensor elements to output circuits extend in the primary scanning direction on the first lower electrodes with an insulating film in between, the first lower electrodes being selectively connected to the lead wires through holes provided in the insulating film.

Photoelectric conversion device

A dry-etched amorphous silicon device which includes an amorphous silicon layer between upper and lower electrodes wherein the adverse effects of dangling silicon bonds on the periphery of the amorphous silicon layer are avoided by cutting back the peripheral surface of at least one of the electrodes to be radially inward of the peripheral surface of the amorphous silicon layer by at least one micron with respect to an axis of the device.

Dry-etched amorphous silicon device with recessed electrode

A full contact image sensor device comprising sensor elements adapted to macroscopically touch a document to receive reflected light from the document and to generate electric signals in response thereto, wherein a receiving surface of each sensor element has an uneven contour and the device wherein each sensor element corresponding to a pixel comprises a plurality of sensor element blocks is proposed. The devices are easily manufactured and have excellent MTF and sensitivity.

Full contact image sensor device with light blocking means

A complete close-contact type image sensor which comes into contact with an original and reads information from the original and which includes a sensor element for photoelectro conversion of a light signal reflected from the original and electronic parts such as a driven unit for driving the sensor element and taking out an electric signal stored in the sensor element, the image sensor being characterized in that the electronic parts such as the driving unit are disposed inside a plane including the surface of contact with the original. According to the above construction of the present invention, since the electronic parts, including the driving unit, are disposed inside the plane which includes the surface of contact with the original, the path of transfer of the original can be made rectilinear to stabilize the feed of the original without enlarging the gap between the sensor element and the original.

Complete close-contact type image sensor

An image sensor device having a plurality of sensor elements connected in a matrix is driven by sequentially applying successive driving pulses, wherein a leading edge of a driving pulse coincides with a trailing edge of a preceding driving pulse and the slew rate at the leading edge is equal to the slew rate at the trailing edge.

Method and apparatus for driving image sensor device

A contact type image sensor device comprises a plurality of photodiodes connected in a matrix, and an equal number of blocking diodes. A capacity ratio of a photo electric part constituting the photodiodes to a diode part constituting the blocking diode is in the range of 2:1 to 30:1. Dynamic range, magnitude of the signal current, light sensitivity and after image characteristics of the image sensor are improved according to the invention.

Contact type image sensor device

A pin diode having an incident layer which includes 1 to 10% of microcrystallized silicon is formed in a condition where a molar ratio of hydrogen to monosilane is 5:1 to 100:1 and applied power is 0.001 to 0.05 W/cm.sup.2. The pin diode as well as a contact image sensor comprising the same as excellent photoelectric transfer efficiency.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Yasumitsu Ohta