×

Solid-state image pickup device

  • US 20010013900A1
  • Filed: 02/09/2001
  • Published: 08/16/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2000
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A solid-state image pickup device, comprising:

  • a number of photoelectric conversion elements disposed in a plurality of rows and columns in a surface of a semiconductor substrate, each photoelectric conversion element of a photoelectric conversion element column of an even number being shifted in a column direction by about a half pitch between photoelectric conversion elements in each photoelectric conversion element column, relative to each photoelectric conversion element of a photoelectric conversion element column of an odd number, and each photoelectric conversion element of a photoelectric conversion element row of an even number being shifted in a row direction by about a half pitch between photoelectric conversion elements in each photoelectric conversion element row, relative to each photoelectric conversion element of a photoelectric conversion element row of an odd number, so that each photoelectric conversion element row includes photoelectric conversion elements of only in the odd or even columns;

    a switching circuit unit provided per each photoelectric conversion element, said switching circuit unit including an output transistor capable of generating an electric signal representing an amount of a signal charge accumulated in a corresponding photoelectric conversion element;

    a row select signal wiring line provided per each photoelectric conversion element row and extending along a corresponding photoelectric conversion element row, said row select signal wiring line supplying a row select signal to each corresponding switching circuit units, the row select signal controlling generation of the electric signal;

    an analog/digital conversion unit provided for each pair of adjacent photoelectric conversion element columns; and

    at least one output signal line provided per each analog/digital conversion unit, the output signal line electrically connecting said analog/digital conversion unit and the output transistor provided for each photoelectric conversion element in at least one of the photoelectric conversion element columns corresponding to said analog/digital conversion unit.

View all claims
  • 3 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×