Patent ID: 8570419
Filing Date: 2013-10-29
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A solid-state imaging device comprising: photoelectric conversion units arrayed in rows and columns; vertical transfer units configured to read signal charges from said photoelectric conversion units and vertically transfer the signal charges; a horizontal transfer unit configured to horizontally transfer the signal charges received from said vertical transfer units; and a drive control unit configured to control the transfer of said vertical transfer units and the transfer of said horizontal transfer unit, wherein said vertical transfer units are allocated to at least one group including a plurality of vertical transfer units in said vertical transfer units, the at least one group is arranged in a horizontal direction, each of said plurality of vertical transfer units in a same group in the at least one group includes a first transfer unit and a second transfer unit, said first transfer unit receiving a driving voltage shared in the same group to vertically transfer signal charges, and said second transfer unit being provided for said first transfer unit to receive a driving voltage independent in the same group to transfer the signal charges from said first transfer unit to said horizontal transfer unit, said first transfer unit includes four or more charge transfer stages each of which is provided for a corresponding transfer electrode and serves as a barrier region or a well region depending on a driving voltage applied to the corresponding transfer electrode, the well region being separated from another well region by the barrier region and forming a packet that is signal charges to be transferred by the well region, and said drive control unit is configured to control the transfer of said vertical transfer units so that (i) after said first transfer unit in each of said plurality of vertical transfer units in the same group transfers a packet, said first transfer unit stops transfer of another packet in a time period during which the packet is horizontally transferred, (ii) said second transfer unit in each of said plurality of vertical transfer units in the same group transfers the packet to said horizontal transfer unit at a different timing different from a timing at which another second transfer unit in the same group transfers a different packet to said horizontal transfer unit, (iii) said horizontal transfer unit horizontally transfers the packet received at the different timing, in a horizontal transfer period different from another horizontal transfer period during which the different packet is horizontally transferred, and (iv) at least one charge transfer stage serving as the well region among said four or more charge transfer stages differs between the horizontal transfer period and the another horizontal transfer period.