Patent ID: 7417677

Claim:
A method of operating a pixel cell, the method comprising: setting a potential on a photo-conversion device to a value approximately equal to a value of a potential barrier formed between the photo-conversion device and a floating diffusion region prior to generating charge in the photo-conversion device by applying a first potential to the photo-conversion device and the floating diffusion region which fills the photo-conversion device and the floating diffusion with charge and applying a second potential to the photo-conversion device and the floating diffusion region which removes charge from the photo-conversion device and the floating diffusion region, wherein the first potential is lower than the second potential; generating charge in response to light incident on the photo-conversion device; applying a third potential to the floating diffusion region; reading out the third potential from the floating diffusion region; and transferring the generated charge from the photo-conversion device to the floating diffusion region subsequent to reading out the third potential.