Patent ID: 7470893

Claim:
A photo-detecting apparatus comprising: a first substrate having a surface provided with a plurality of photodetector devices; a second substrate having a surface provided with a signal processing part for processing output signals of said photodetector devices; and a third substrate, provided between said first and second substrates, having a first surface opposing said first substrate and a second surface opposing said second substrate; said third substrate including: a common wire, arranged on said first surface, electrically connected to said photodetector devices; and a terminal part, arranged on said second surface, electrically connected to said common wire on the first surface and said signal processing part, wherein said common wire on said first surface of said third substrate includes a plurality of wiring elements arranged at a predetermined interval, and wherein said terminal part on said second surface of said third substrate includes a plurality of terminals arranged at an interval narrower than the interval at which said plurality of wiring elements are arranged, wherein said first substrate comprises a plurality of switches each electrically connected to the associated photodetector device, and wherein said photo-detecting apparatus comprises a control part for successively opening/closing said plurality of switches.