Patent · US Active

Solid-state image sensing apparatus and driving method thereof

US7379109B2 · kind B2 · utility

7Cited by
3References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 18, 2004
Grant dateMay 27, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 24, 2026

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N25/78
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A solid-state image sensing apparatus which can improve the S/N ratio without enlarging the chip area in both of the mode in which pixel signals are summed and the mode in which pixel signals are not summed is provided. The solid-state image sensing apparatus includes an image sensing region 510 in which a plurality of unit cells 500 is laid out two-dimensionally, the first vertical signal line 520, a row selection circuit 530, a column selection circuit 560, a horizontal signal line 570 and a signal processing unit 100, having a sampling capacitors which accumulate signals corresponding to amplified signals of the unit cells, which selects the case of summing the signals or the case of not summing the signals, wherein the capacitance of the sampling capacitor which accumulates a signal corresponding to an amplified signal of a unit cell for each row when the sum is performed is smaller than the capacitance required for reading out the signal from said capacitor.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.