Patent ID: 8736734

Claim:
A driving method of a solid-state imaging apparatus, wherein the solid-state imaging apparatus comprises a pixel portion comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion portion for photoelectrically converting an incident light into a charge, an accumulation portion for accumulating the charge, a first transfer portion connecting the photoelectric conversion portion to the accumulation portion, a second transfer portion connecting the accumulation portion to a floating diffusion portion, and a third transfer portion connecting the photoelectric conversion portion to a power source, wherein, at least during a period in which the pixel accumulates the charge, a barrier formed in the first transfer portion with respect to the charge accumulated in the accumulation portion has a height not higher than a height of a barrier formed in the third transfer portion, and wherein the driving method comprises steps of: forming a potential barrier in the second transfer portion, from a state where the potential barrier is not formed in the second transfer portion; reading out a signal level according to the floating diffusion portion; forming, from a state where no potential barrier is formed, the potential barrier in the second transfer portion, under a condition that the potential barrier is formed in the first transfer portion and no potential barrier is formed in the third transfer portion; and forming the potential barrier in the third transfer portion.