Patent ID: 8917341

Claim:
A solid-state imaging device comprising: a photodiode; a floating diffusion region; a first charge accumulation region distinct from the floating diffusion region; a second charge accumulation region distinct from the floating diffusion region; a first transfer gate between the photodiode and the first charge accumulation region; and a second transfer gate between the first and second charge accumulation region and the floating diffusion region, wherein, a charge generated in the photodiode is distributed into the first charge accumulation region and the second charge accumulation region based on an amount of charge, the charge is transferred among the first and second charge accumulation regions by application of respective signals to the first and second charge transfer gates, the first charge accumulation region is a first capacitor of a first type and the second charge accumulation region is a second capacitor of a second type that is different from the first type, and a capacitance value per unit area of the second capacitor is higher than a capacitance value per unit area of the first capacitor.