Patent ID: 7148925

Claim:
A solid-state image pickup apparatus for separating incident light into colors at positions corresponding to apertures formed in a screening member, which screens the incident light, converting resulting color-separated light to electric signals, and processing said electric signals to thereby output broadband signals, said apparatus comprising: an image pickup section comprising: a color filter comprising color filter segments for separating light incident via the apertures into a plurality of colors each having a particular spectral characteristic, wherein said color filter segments include color filter segments having complementary color spectral characteristics; an image sensing section comprising photosensitive cells for converting the light transmitted through said color filter segments to electric signals, wherein nearby ones of said photosensitive cells are shifted from each other in at least one of a vertical and a horizontal direction in a bidimensional arrangement; electrodes arranged in such a manner as to skirt round the apertures for producing signals from said photosensitive cells; and first transfer registers each formed meandering round the apertures of said photosensitive cells and sequentially transferring the signals input via said electrodes from said photosensitive cells in a vertical direction and a second transfer register formed substantially orthogonal to said first transfer registers and transferring the signals input via said first transfer registers; an operation commanding circuit for outputting a timing and any one of a plurality of modes for reading the signals out of said image pickup section; a digitizing circuit for converting the signals read out of said image pickup section to digital data, wherein said digital data are arranged in a plane that contains said photosensitive cells and virtual pixels derived from a shifted arrangement of said photosensitive cells; and a signal processing circuit for interpolating, in a first mode designated by said operation commanding circuit, pixel data in positions of said virtual pixels or positions of said photosensitive cells and generating three primary color data on the basis of a plurality of pixel data, which are produced by mixing pixel data, and interpolating in a second mode designated by said operation commanding circuit, three primary color image data in the positions of said virtual pixels on the basis of all pixel data sequentially read out of said photosensitive cells, generating three primary color pixel data at the positions of said photosensitive cells on the basis of said pixel data given to said virtual pixels, and broadening a frequency band of said three primary color image data.