Patent ID: 7050101

Claim:
A solid state image pickup device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of vertical charge transfer elements formed in one surface of said semiconductor substrate, each having (i) a vertical charge transfer channel having a first conductivity type and (ii) a plurality of vertical transfer electrodes formed on a first electrically insulating layer formed on the one surface of said semiconductor substrate, the vertical transfer electrodes traversing the vertical charge transfer channels as viewed in plan; a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements formed in the one surface of said semiconductor substrate in a matrix shape in rows and columns, each of said photoelectric conversion elements being electrically connectable to corresponding one of said vertical charge transfer elements; a horizontal charge transfer element formed in the one surface of said substrate and being electrically connectable to each of said vertical charge transfer elements, said horizontal charge transfer element having (i) a horizontal charge transfer channel having the first conductivity type and (ii) a plurality of horizontal transfer electrodes formed on the first electrically insulating layer formed on the one surface of said semiconductor substrate, each horizontal transfer electrode traversing the horizontal charge transfer channel as viewed in plan; a drain region formed in the one surface of said semiconductor substrate along the horizontal charge transfer channel, said drain region having the first conductivity type; and a barrier region for charge formed between the horizontal charge transfer channel and said drain region, wherein the horizontal charge transfer channel, said drain region and said barrier region constitute a two-electrode element; wherein said drain region includes a first drain region formed on a side of said barrier region and a second drain region adjacent to the first drain region, the second drain region has a potential for charge deeper than a potential for charge of the first drain region.