Patent ID: 8314868

Claim:
A solid state imaging device comprising: an AD conversion section that has a comparing section, which receives a reference signal whose level changes gradually from a predetermined reference signal generating section that generates the reference signal and which compares the reference signal with an analog signal to be processed, and a counter section, which receives a count clock for AD conversion and performs a count operation on the basis of a comparison result of the comparing section, and that acquires digital data of the signal to be processed on the basis of output data of the counter section; a count operation period control section that controls an operation period of the counter section in each processing on the basis of the comparison result of the comparing section; and a driving control section that controls the reference signal generating section and the AD conversion section such that for the signal to be processed, data of upper N−M bits is acquired by performing AD conversion processing with N−M bit precision in first processing and data of lower M bits is acquired by performing AD conversion processing with N bit precision for one LSB of N−M bit precision, which is difficult to resolve with N−M bit precision in the first processing, in second processing, wherein the driving control section controls the reference signal generating section such that the reference signal changes in a full range of AD conversion in both the first and second processing, and the count operation period control section operates the counter section, in the first processing, in a first-half period of the full range of AD conversion until the comparison result of the comparing section is inverted or a second-half period of the full range of AD conversion after the comparison result of the comparing section is inverted and operates the counter section, in the second processing, in a period between a point of time when the reference signal reaches a level equivalent to a lower limit or upper limit of one LSB of N−M bit precision to which AD-converted data of the signal to be processed belongs and a point of time when the comparison result of the comparing section is inverted.