Patent ID: 7973839
Filing Date: 2011-07-05
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A method of driving an image pickup device that includes a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels including a plurality of photoelectric conversion units, a shared signal amplification transistor that is shared by the plurality of photoelectric conversion units for amplifying signals generated in the plurality of photoelectric conversion units, an output node of the shared signal amplification unit being electrically connected to a vertical signal line, and a plurality of charge transfer units for transferring electric charges from each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion units to an input node of the shared signal amplification unit, the method comprising: a first transferring step of transferring to the shared signal amplification unit a portion of photoelectric signal charges accumulated in a first photoelectric conversion unit; a second transferring step of transferring to the shared signal amplification unit a portion of photoelectric signal charges accumulated in a second photoelectric conversion unit; a first adding step of adding the signal charges transferred in the first transferring step and the signal charges transferred in the second transferring step at an input node of the shared signal amplification unit; a third transferring step of transferring to the shared signal amplification unit a remaining portion of the photoelectric signal charges in the first photoelectric conversion unit, which remain from the first transferring step; a fourth transferring step of transferring to the shared signal amplification unit a remaining portion of the photoelectric signal charges in the second photoelectric conversion unit, which remain from the second transferring step; and a second adding step of adding the signal charges transferred in the third transferring step and the signal charges transferred in the fourth transferring step at an input node of the shared signal amplification unit.