Sony Corporation

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation

Sony Group Corporation

Yosuke Ueno

Atsumi Niwa

Takashi Moue

Shizunori Matsumoto

Yusuke Ikeda

Atsushi Suzuki

Ken Koseki

Tomonori Yamashita

Toshiaki Nagai

Eiji Hirata

Taishin Yoshida

Daijiro Anai

Shimon Teshima

Yoshinobu Furusawa

Takahiro Uchimura

Tatsuki Nishino

Kenichi Takamiya

Yusuke Moriyama

Natsuko Seino

Tsutomu Haruta

Rei Yoshikawa

Shinichirou Etou

Youhei Oosako

Hayato Wakabayashi

Noam Eshel

Masahiro Segami

Yasunori Tsukuda

Golan Zeituni

Kenichi Maruko

Tetsuya Fujiwara

Kouji Matsuura

Kazutoshi Tomita

Kiyoshi Makigawa

Yasufumi Hino

Ryuta Okamoto

Hideyuki Suzuki

Masayuki Hattori

Tamotsu Ikeda

Takashi Masuda

Toshiyuki Miyauchi

Hiizu Ootorii

Kengo Umeda

Kazunori Hasebe

Haruo Togashi

Tomohiro Matsumoto

Kazukuni Takanohashi

Daisuke Nakagawa

Jeremy Chatwin

Daisuke Hirono

Sachio Akebono

Yoshifumi Miyajima

Taiki Iguchi

Zhiwei Zhou

Takuro Kosaka

Yoshio Awatani

Sachiya Tanaka

Masako Hasegawa

There is provided a solid state imaging element includes a current source, a pixel circuit, a comparison circuit, a control section, and a counter. The current source generates a constant current. The pixel circuit generates a pixel signal of a higher voltage than a predetermined lower limit voltage in accordance with conductance of the current source. The comparison circuit amplifies the pixel signal at a predetermined amplification rate and compares the amplified pixel signal with a predetermined reference signal. The control section decreases conductance as the amplification rate increases. The counter counts count values in a period of time until a comparison result of the comparison circuit is inverted and outputs the count values.

Solid state imaging element, imaging apparatus, and method for controlling solid state imaging element

To provide an image capturing device capable of suppressing a decrease of a dynamic range of the entire image capturing device caused by an input transistor of a comparator inserted between a signal line and a load current source in an analog-digital converter. The image capturing device of the present disclosure includes: a load current source; a comparator that includes an input transistor connected between a signal line that transmits a signal read from a pixel and the load current source; and a reference signal supply section that supplies a predetermined reference signal to a charge-voltage conversion section of the pixel.

Image capturing device and electronic apparatus

Provided is an image sensor including: a pixel section configured to include a plurality of pixels arranged therein; and an AD conversion unit configured to perform analog-to-digital (AD) conversion on a pixel signal on the basis of a result of comparison between a first voltage of a signal, which is obtained by adding, via capacitances, the pixel signal of the pixel and a reference signal that linearly changes in a direction opposite to the pixel signal, with a second voltage serving as a reference.

Image sensor, method of controlling image sensor, and electronic device

A degree of freedom in design is improved in a solid-state imaging element in which a logic gate is provided in a comparator. A comparison circuit compares an input potential which has been input with a predetermined reference potential and outputs any one of a pair of output potentials as a comparison result. A level shift circuit outputs any one of a pair of shift potentials having a larger potential difference than the pair of output potentials as an output signal on the basis of the comparison result. The logic gate determines whether or not the output signal is higher than a predetermined threshold between the pair of shift potentials and outputs a determination result. A counter counts a count value over a period until the determination result is inverted.

Solid-state imaging element and imaging device

Provided is a solid-state imaging element including a pixel circuit and a comparison transistor. In the solid-state imaging element, the pixel circuit generates a pixel signal and outputs the pixel signal to a vertical signal line. Further, the comparison transistor has a source connected to a constant current source configured to supply a constant current to the vertical signal line. The comparison transistor has a gate to which a predetermined reference signal is input. Further, the comparison transistor has a drain from which a comparison result between the pixel signal and the reference signal is output.

A photodetection device according to the present disclosure includes: a first pixel that is configured to generate a first pixel signal; a reference signal generator that is configured to generate a reference signal; and a first comparator including a first power supply circuit and a first comparison circuit, the first power supply circuit configured to generate a first power supply voltage on the basis of a power supply voltage supplied from a first power supply node and a bias voltage and configured to output the first power supply voltage from an output terminal, and the first comparison circuit configured to operate on the basis of the first power supply voltage and configured to perform a comparison operation on the basis of the first pixel signal and the reference signal.

Photodetection device and electronic apparatus

A solid-state image sensor includes: an input transistor configured to output, from a drain, a drain voltage according to an input voltage input to a source in a case where the input voltage substantially coincides with a predetermined reference voltage input to a gate; and an output transistor configured to output a signal indicating whether or not a difference between the input voltage input to a source and the drain voltage input to a gate exceeds a predetermined threshold voltage as a comparison result between the input voltage and the reference voltage.

Solid-state image sensor

Solid-state imaging elements that prevent deterioration of image quality, and reduce power consumption and AD-conversion time are disclosed. In one example, a solid-state imaging element includes a first comparator that uses a first voltage corresponding to an input voltage received from a first pixel, in reference to a first voltage difference between the input voltage and a first reference voltage, and that outputs a comparison result between the input voltage and the first reference voltage in reference to a second voltage difference, and a second comparator that outputs a comparison result of comparison between the input voltage and the second reference voltage in reference to a fourth voltage difference.

Solid-state imaging element

A photodetection device according to the present disclosure includes: a first pixel that is configured to generate a first pixel signal; a reference signal generator that is configured to generate a reference signal; and a first converter that includes a first buffer circuit and a first comparison circuit and is configured to convert the first pixel signal into a digital code, the first buffer circuit configured to output a first signal corresponding to the reference signal from an output terminal, and the first comparison circuit configured to perform a comparison operation on the basis of the first pixel signal and the first signal.

It is intended to improve reading speed of pixel signals in a solid-state imaging element provided with an ADC. A plurality of pixels are arrayed in a pixel block. A drive circuit drives the pixel block to output a plurality of pixel signals at the same time. A comparator successively selects the plurality of pixel signals and compares the selected pixel signals and a predetermined reference signal. A control section generates a control signal for updating the predetermined reference signal on the basis of comparison results of the comparator. A reference signal update section updates the predetermined reference signal according to the control signal.

Solid-state imaging element, imaging apparatus, and control method of solid-state imaging element with improved reading speed of pixel signals

There is provided an imaging device including a pixel array section including pixel units two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix pattern, each pixel unit including a photoelectric converter, and a plurality of column signal lines disposed according to a first column of the pixel units. The imaging device further includes an analog to digital converter that is shared by the plurality of column signal lines.

Imaging element, imaging method and electronic apparatus

In a solid-state image sensor provided with a comparator that compares a reference signal and a pixel signal, the image quality of image data is improved. A voltage divider circuit supplies a divided voltage of an input voltage and a predetermined reference voltage that are input. An input-side differential transistor outputs a drain current corresponding to the gate-source voltage between the divided voltage input to the gate and a predetermined source voltage. An output-side differential transistor outputs a voltage corresponding to the drain current as a result of comparison between the input voltage and the reference voltage. A control transistor reduces the gate-source voltage in a case where the input voltage is out of a predetermined range.

Solid-state image sensor and imaging device

It makes it easier to reduce the line capacitance of vertical signal lines in a solid-state image sensor in which signals are output via the vertical signal lines. The solid-state image sensor is provided with a logic circuit, a pixel circuit, and a negative capacitance circuit. In the solid-state image sensor, the logic circuit processes an analog signal. Also, in the solid-state image sensor, the pixel circuit generates an analog signal by photoelectric conversion, and outputs the analog signal to the logic circuit via a predetermined signal line. In the solid-state image sensor, the negative capacitance circuit is connected to the predetermined signal line.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Yosuke Ueno