Patent ID: 7050100

Claim:
An imaging apparatus comprising: a lens; a photoelectric conversion device to generate and accumulate electric charges corresponding to a light amount of an object inputted through said lens, said photoelectric conversion device having photoelectric conversion elements which are arranged two-dimensionally; a vertical charge transfer line which vertically transfers the electric charges generated in said photoelectric conversion device; a read gate which transfers the electric charges accumulated in said photoelectric conversion device to said vertical charge transfer line; a read gate electrode to control said read gate; a vertical transfer electrode, constructed as an m-phase group (m is an integer of 2 or more), to cause said vertical charge transfer line to transfer said electric charges therein; a horizontal charge transfer line which horizontally transfers said electric charges transferred through said vertical charge transfer line; horizontal transfer electrodes to cause said horizontal charge transfer line to transfer said electric charges therein; and a driving circuit which applies a driving pulse to said vertical transfer electrodes and said horizontal transfer electrode, wherein said read gate is connected to a predetermined vertical transfer electrode among said m-phase vertical transfer electrodes and a voltage applied to said predetermined vertical transfer electrode, connected to said read gate, is set to be a low voltage while said electric charges are accumulated in said photoelectric conversion device so as not to form a potential well at least under said predetermined vertical transfer electrode connected to said read gate.