Patent ID: 6469290
Filing Date: 2002-10-22
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
A solid-state image pickup apparatus for separating colors of incident light at positions corresponding to apertures of shield members, which shield the incident light, transforming the incident light separated in color to a corresponding signal, and processing said signal to thereby broaden a frequency band of said signal, said apparatus comprising:a solid-state image sensor comprising: a color filter comprising color filter segments, which include complementary color filter segments as to a spectral characteristic, for separating the incident light input through the apertures into a plurality of colors each having a particular spectral characteristic; a sensor array comprising photosensitive cells each for transforming the incident light input through a particular one of the color filter segments to a signal charge, wherein nearby ones of said photosensitive cells are shifted from each other in at least one of a vertical and a horizontal direction; and a reading circuit for sequentially reading out signal charges generated in the photosensitive cells in a preselected order to thereby output said signal charges as an output signal; a digitizing circuit for digitizing the output signal for thereby outputting pixel data; and a signal processing circuit for detecting, by assuming actual pixels derived from positions where said photosensitive cells are present and virtual pixels intervening between said actual pixels, a correlation of the pixel data in at least one of the horizontal and vertical directions, multiplying each of said pixel data by a particular constant in accordance with a color of the color filter segment to thereby generate corrected pixel data, producing, based on the correlation detected, high-frequency luminance data including high-frequency components for said actual pixels and said virtual pixels while producing, based on said pixel data, three primary color data, and generating data relating to luminance and chrominance on the basis of resulting different kinds of pixel data; wherein said color filter includes a first group of color filter segments of a first and a second color positioned on a same row and a second group of color filter segments of a third and a fourth color positioned on a same row, said first group of color filter segments and said second group of filter segments, which adjoin each other, being shifted from each other by one-half of a pixel pitch; and wherein the color filter segments are arranged such that a first sum of products and a second sum of products, which are respectively produced by multiplying the spectral characteristic of said first group by a first and a second constant and multiplying the spectral characteristic of said second group by a third and a fourth constant, are substantially equal to each other, and such that said first and second sums have a relation close to a spectral characteristic representative of luminance.