Patent ID: 6674471
Filing Date: 2004-01-06
Classification: H01L,H04N

Abstract:
A solid-state imaging device comprising:an imaging area including a plurality of pixels arranged in columns and rows; and peripheral circuitry for selecting at least one of the pixels, wherein each said pixel includes: a photoelectric transducer for creating electric charges by converting incoming light into electric energy and for storing the charges therein; means for storing the charges that have been read out from the photoelectric transducer; a transfer electrode, provided between the photoelectric transducer and the storage means, for reading out the charges from the photoelectric transducer to the storage means; an amplifier for sensing a variation in potential in the storage means; and a reset electrode for discharging the charges, which have been stored in the storage means, to a power supply, thereby resetting the potential in the storage means, and wherein the peripheral circuitry includes a selector for generating first and second control signals, the first control signal being applied to the transfer electrode to control the height of a first electrical barrier under the transfer electrode, the second control signal being applied to the reset electrode to control the height of a second electrical barrier under the reset electrode, wherein the selector includes a bank of multi-stage inverters operative upon the application of first and second power supply voltages thereto, the second power supply voltage being lower than the first power supply voltage, some of the inverters on the last stage generating biased output signals to be supplied as the first and second control signals, and wherein at least two different voltages are applied as the first power supply voltage to the bank of multi-stage inverters, the first power supply voltage applied to the last-stage inverters being higher than the first power supply voltage applied to the other inverters of the bank.