Patent ID: 11860033
Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 26:
27. A drive method for driving a photodetector, wherein
the photodetector includes:
at least one avalanche photodiode including a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type and a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type;
a first transistor connected to the first semiconductor layer and including a channel of the second conductivity type that has polarity opposite to polarity of the first conductivity type; and
a second transistor connected to the first semiconductor layer and including a channel of the first conductivity type, and

the drive method comprises:
during a reset period, bringing (i) the first transistor into conduction to reset a voltage of the first semiconductor layer to a first voltage and (ii) the second transistor into non-conduction; and
during an exposure period after the reset period, bringing (i) the first transistor into non-conduction and (ii) the second transistor into a half-ON state.