Patent ID: 9013765
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: H01L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising: a plurality of unit cell groups each including a plurality of unit cells, with each unit cell including a plurality of pixels including one or more optical black pixels and one or more effective pixels having spectral sensitivities different from each other, and a plurality of first holding capacitors each corresponding to each of the pixels; a plurality of second holding capacitors each corresponding to each of the unit cells, for receiving signals from each of the unit cells; a plurality of scanning circuits, each individual scanning circuit corresponding to a different one of the plurality of unit cell groups and said each individual scanning circuit configured to scan the corresponding unit cell group; and a plurality of common signal lines, the solid-state imaging apparatus being configured to perform: a first transfer operation for transferring together all of the signals accumulated during a same period in the pixels to the first holding capacitors to hold therein, a second transfer operation subsequent to the first transfer operation for transferring the signals held in the first holding capacitors successively to the second holding capacitors to hold therein, and a third transfer operation for reading successively the signals in the second holding capacitors to the common signal lines, such that the second transfer operation and the third transfer operation are repeated at least a same number of times as a number of the plurality of unit cell groups, and a signal from one of the optical black pixels is transferred at each time of the second transfer operation, and the signal from the one of the optical black pixels is transferred at each time of the third transfer operation, wherein an optical black pixel and an effective pixel included in a same one of the unit cells are successively scanned by a same one of the scanning circuits during the third transfer operation, while the optical black pixels or the effective pixels included in different ones of the unit cells are successively scanned by different ones of the scanning circuits during the third transfer operation, and the plurality of scanning circuits output simultaneously the signals from the different ones of the plurality of unit cell groups to corresponding ones of the common signal lines.