Solid state imaging device, method for driving the same and camera using the same
US7038723B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 2000 |
| Grant date | May 2, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/626
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In making solid state imaging devices smaller and increasing their number of pixels, it is desirable to increase the charge amount that can be handled per unit area of the transfer portions. It is possible to achieve this by making the insulating film thinner, but this leads to electric fields in the semiconductor substrate that are too strong, and causes problems such as the generation of noise and the deterioration of the transfer efficiency. This invention relaxes potential steps in the transfer region by applying, when a signal charge 1 is being read out (t=t2), a high voltage to the electrode 43 for reading out the signal charge, a low voltage to at least one of the electrodes 41, 45–47 for preventing unnecessary mixing of signal charges, and an intermediate voltage between the high voltage and the low voltage to the electrodes 42 and 44, which are adjacent to the electrode 43 to which the high voltage is applied.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.