Solid state image sensor applied with differing read-out gate voltages

Abstract

A solid state image sensor is disclosed which includes a photosensitive region consisting of a group of first vertical shift registers formed of a plurality of charge transfer devices, light receiving areas, which are located between adjacent ones of the group of first vertical shift registers, electrically separated from one other by a channel stop region and capable of accumulating a charge, and read-out gate sections transferring signal charges of the light receiving areas to corresponding one of the first vertical shift registers, a storage section consisting of a group of second vertical shift registers electrically connected to one end of the vertical shift registers, a charge transfer horizontal shift register electrically connected to one end of the second vertical shift registers, and a section for field-reading out the signal charges in the photosensitive areas, the potentials of the read-out gate sections during the light receiving and accumulating period are selected to be different between the periods before and after the vertical blanking period during which a signal of an opposite field is read out whereby a processing charge proportional to the amount of light impinging on receiving areas during the preceding period is made smaller than that during the succeeding period.