Patent ID: 6429898
Filing Date: 2002-08-06
Classification: H01L,H04N

Abstract:
A solid-state imaging device, comprising:(a) a two-dimensional array of photosensors comprising vertical columns and odd-numbered and even-numbered horizontal rows of photosensors, the photosensors accumulating signal charges corresponding to an incident light flux; (b) vertical transfer paths associated with the columns of photosensors; (c) gates for delivering charges accumulated on the photosensors during an accumulation time to the vertical transfer paths; (d) a horizontal transfer path for transferring the signal charges received from the vertical transfer paths to an output; (e) a vertical drive circuit that controls the gates so that signal charges accumulate for a first accumulation time in the photosensors in the odd rows and a second accumulation time in the photosensors in the even rows, wherein the first and second accumulation times are unequal, the vertical drive circuit also directing the signal charges from the vertical transfer paths to the horizontal transfer path, so as to produce an image signal; and (f) a summing junction for summing signal charges from photosensors from the same column and adjacent rows of the array of photosensors, the image signal corresponding to the summed signal charges.