Patent ID: 7630007
Filing Date: 2009-12-08
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A driving method for a solid-state imaging device which has a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form and uses a frame period including a field period for acquiring signal charges of the pixel and a field period for acquiring electric charges causing smear, said method comprising: a first holding step of holding electric charges which cause smear and are obtained from incident light in a first holding unit, in a previous field period which is one of two different field periods temporally and evenly spaced away from a predetermined field period in the frame period and appears temporally earlier, for each of first pixels included in the plurality of pixels; a second holding step of holding signal charges which are obtained from the incident light in a second holding unit, in the predetermined field period, for each of the first pixels; a first equalization step of equalizing electric charges which cause smear and are obtained from the incident light in a subsequent field period which is the other one of the two field periods and appears temporally later, and the electric charges which cause smear and are held by the first holding unit, in a subsequent field period which is the other one of the two field periods and appears temporally later, for each of the first pixels; and a first subtraction step of subtracting the electric charges which cause smear and are equalized in said first equalization step from the signal charges which are held by the second holding unit, for each of the first pixels.