Patent ID: 7902574
Filing Date: 2011-03-08
Classification: H01L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A solid-state image pickup device comprising plural pixels integrated in an array configuration on a semiconductor substrate; each pixel comprising the following parts: a photodiode that receives light and generates and accumulates photoelectric charge in the form of photoelectrons; a transfer transistor that transfers said photoelectric charge from said photodiode; a floating diffusion that transfers said photoelectric charge via said transfer transistor; an accumulating capacitive element that is connected via said floating diffusion to said photodiode and at least accumulates the photoelectric charge overflowing from said photodiode in the accumulating operation via said transfer transistor wherein the overflowing charge is integrated by capacitance of the floating diffusion and the accumulating capacitive element thereby increasing dynamic range; an accumulating transistor that connects or divides the potentials of said floating diffusion and said accumulating capacitive element; and a reset transistor that is directly connected to said accumulating capacitive element and not directly connected to said floating diffusion to exhaust the photoelectric charge in of said accumulating capacitive element; during the accumulating period of said photoelectric charge, a voltage over that applied on said semiconductor substrate, or −0.6 V or lower than the voltage applied on said semiconductor substrate, is applied as an OFF voltage level of the transistor on the gate electrode of at least one of said transfer transistor, said accumulating transistor and said reset transistor; and further comprising: gate electrode of at least one of said transfer transistor, said accumulating transistor and said reset transistor is made of p-type polysilicon; below said gate electrode made of p-type polysilicon; a p-type layer is formed on a principal surface of a p-type well of said semiconductor substrate, and an n-type layer is formed as a channel in a region deeper than said p-type layer, so that a pnp-type embedded channel structure is formed.