Patent ID: 6690423
Filing Date: 2004-02-10
Classification: H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
A solid-state image pickup apparatus which incorporates a semiconductor substrate having an image pickup region including unit pixels disposed in a two-dimensional configuration and signal scanning sections for reading signals from the pixels in the image pickup region, the solid-state image pickup apparatus comprising:a photoelectric conversion region having a first-conduction-type signal accumulating section formed at a position apart from the interface of the semiconductor substrate in a direction of the depth of the semi-conductor substrate for a predetermined distance and arranged to accumulate signal charges obtained from photoelectric conversion; a gate electrode of a first-conduction-type MOS field effect transistor formed adjacent to the photoelectric conversion region and arranged to discharge a signal charge from the signal accumulating section; and a first-conduction-type detecting node section serving as a drain region for receiving the signal charges from the photoelectric conversion region via the gate electrode, wherein at least a part of the signal accumulating section in a direction of a channel thereof extends to overlap the gate electrode in a direction in which signals are discharged, modulation of the potential of the gate electrode is used to discharge signals from the signal accumulating section through the channel of the MOS field effect transistor, and the first-conduction-type detecting node section is not located below the gate electrode but at an opposite side of the gate electrode.