Patent ID: 8792037

Claim:
A solid-state imaging device comprising: a plurality of unit cells arranged in rows and columns; and a row scanning unit configured to generate a reset signal and a transfer signal for driving row scanning of the plurality of unit cells, wherein: each of the plurality of unit cells includes: a photodiode which converts incident light into signal charges; a floating diffusion which holds the signal charges; a transfer transistor which transfers the signal charges from the photodiode to the floating diffusion according to the transfer signal; a reset transistor which resets a potential of the floating diffusion according to the reset signal; and an amplifying transistor which converts the signal charges accumulated in the floating diffusion into voltage, each of the plurality of unit cells has a read-out state, an unselected state and a shuttered state, the row scanning unit is configured to, in the read-out state, perform a transfer operation for causing a transfer of the signal charges from the photodiode to the floating diffusion, by supplying a transfer pulse having a first potential, the row scanning unit is further configured to change a potential of the transfer signal from a second potential to a third potential prior to the transfer operation and then change the potential of the transfer signal from the third potential to the first potential for the transfer operation, the first potential is a positive potential for turning the transfer transistor into an ON state, the second potential is a potential for causing pinning of holes under a gate of the transfer transistor and turning the transfer transistor into an OFF state, and the third potential is a potential for not causing the pinning of the holes under the gate of the transfer transistor and turning the transfer transistor into an OFF state, the third potential being lower than the first potential and higher than the second potential.