Patent ID: 7969487

Claim:
A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising: a pixel section having pixels two-dimensionally arranged into row direction and column direction, each pixel containing a photoelectric conversion section, an accumulation section for accumulating output of said photoelectric conversion section, an amplification section for amplifying output of said photoelectric conversion section accumulated at said accumulation section and outputting it as pixel signal, and a reset section for effecting reset of said accumulation section; a vertical scanning section for selecting row to be read out of said pixel section; vertical signal lines provided correspondingly to columns of said pixel section, onto which pixel signals of pixels arranged in column direction are outputted; a column amplifier section including an amplifier unit and a suppression signal application unit, said suppression signal application unit disposed in series between said vertical signal line and said amplifier unit; said suppression signal application unit effecting suppression of a dark current component of said pixels contained in pixel signals inputted through said vertical signal line and said amplifier unit amplifying said pixel signals after the suppression of the dark current component by said suppression signal application unit; a horizontal scanning section for selecting said pixel signal amplified by said column amplifier section and outputting it onto a horizontal signal line; and a dark current correction signal generation section for generating and applying on said column amplifier section a signal for suppressing said dark current component based on said pixel signal from said horizontal signal line.