Patent ID: 7965331
Filing Date: 2011-06-21
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A solid state imaging element comprising: photoelectric conversion elements; a plurality of vertical electric charge transfer passages that transfer, in a vertical direction, electric charges generated by the photoelectric conversion elements; and a horizontal electric charge transfer passage that transfers, in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, the electric charges transferred in the vertical electric charge transfer passage, wherein the horizontal electric charge transfer passage comprises a plurality of electric charge transferring stages each of which operates as an electric charge accumulating region or a barrier region according to a level of an applied voltage, each of said plurality of electric charge transferring stages is connected to plural ones of the vertical electric charge transfer passages, and a line memory, the line memory comprising: a plurality of electric charge accumulating regions each of which connects each of said plurality of vertical electric charge transfer passages with the horizontal electric charge transfer passages; and memory electrodes each of which is connected with different ones of the electric charge transferring stages and is independently arranged in an upper portion of adjacent two ones of the electric charge accumulating regions, wherein the memory electrodes comprises a first set of memory electrodes and a second set of memory electrodes that are each independently capable of applying voltage.