Patent ID: 7956388

Claim:
A solid-state image pickup device comprising: a plurality of element line groups each comprising a first solid-state image pickup element line and a second solid-state image pickup element line, wherein the first solid-state image pickup element line and the second solid-state image pickup element line comprise a plurality of the solid-state image pickup elements including: a first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer; a second-conductive type planar semiconductor layer; wherein the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer is formed on the second-conductive type planar semiconductor layer; a hole formed in the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer; a first-conductive type high-concentration impurity region formed in a bottom wall of the hole of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer; a first-conductive type high-concentration impurity-doped element isolation region formed in a sidewall of the hole of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer, and connected to the first-conductive type high-concentration impurity region; a second-conductive type photoelectric conversion region formed in the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer located beneath the first-conductive type high-concentration impurity region and in a lower region of the sidewall of the hole of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer, and adapted to change a charge amount upon receiving light, wherein the second-conductive type photoelectric conversion region has an impurity concentration less than 1×10 18 cm −3 ; a transfer electrode formed on the entire sidewall of the hole of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer through a gate dielectric film; a second-conductive type CCD channel region formed in a top surface of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer and in an upper region of the sidewall of the hole of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer; and a read channel formed in a region of the first-conductive type planar semiconductor layer sandwiched between the second-conductive type photoelectric conversion region and the second-conductive type CCD channel region; wherein said solid-state image pickup elements in the first solid-state image pickup element line are arranged in a first direction at first-distance intervals, and the solid-state image pickup elements in the second solid-state image pickup element line are arranged in the first direction at the first distance intervals while being staggered with respect to the solid-state image pickup elements in the first solid-state image pickup element line, and wherein the first and second solid-state image pickup element lines in each of the element line groups are arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction at second distance intervals, and the element line groups are arranged in the second direction at the second distance intervals with a place in the first direction between adjacent groups.