Solid-state image pick-up device and digital still camera

• US 20030222262A1
• Filed: 04/08/2003
• Published: 12/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Oda, Kazuya, Inuiya, Masafumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,292,277 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/72
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14812 Special geometry or disposition of pixel-elements, address lines or gate-electrodes

Abstract

In a solid-state image pick-up device comprising photoelectric converting devices 3r, 3g and 3b formed at a predetermined array interval in row and column directions on a semiconductor substrate, vertical transfer paths 4a, 4b, 4c, . . . provided in the column direction of the photoelectric converting device and serving to read and transfer a signal charge obtained by the photoelectric converting device, and a shielding film for covering an upper part of the vertical transfer path, a pore 7 is provided in a place corresponding to an imaginary pixel point position in the shielding film. Consequently, an actual signal (an imaginary pixel point charge) corresponding to the amount of a received light on the imaginary pixel point through the pore 7 is stored in the vertical transfer path. Therefore, the imaginary pixel point charge is read from the solid-state image pick-up device before the signal charge is read from the photoelectric converting device, and image data based on the signal charge are corrected by the actual imaginary pixel point charge. Thus, it is possible to generate an image having a high resolution.

Claims

1. A solid-state image pick-up device comprising a photoelectric converting device formed at a predetermined array interval in row and column directions on a semiconductor substrate, a vertical transfer path provided in the column direction of the photoelectric converting device and serving to read and transfer a signal charge obtained by the photoelectric converting device, and a shielding film for covering an upper part of the vertical transfer path, wherein a pore is provided in a place corresponding to an imaginary pixel point position in the shielding film.

2. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 1, wherein the photoelectric converting device is arranged in the row direction with a shift of a ½

pitch alternately.

3. A digital still camera comprising the solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 1 or 2, a focal plane shutter provided in a front part of the solid-state image pick-up device, and an image processing device for reading an imaginary pixel point charge stored in an imaginary pixel point position on the vertical transfer path from the solid-state image pick-up device after the focal plane shutter is closed and then reading a signal charge of the photoelectric converting device from the solid-state image pick-up device, thereby generating image pick-up data from the signal charge and the imaginary pixel point charge.

4. A solid-state image pick-up device comprising a photoelectric converting device formed at a predetermined array interval in row and column directions on a semiconductor substrate, a vertical transfer path provided in the column direction of the photoelectric converting device and serving to read and transfer a signal charge by the photoelectric converting device, and a shielding film for covering an upper part of the vertical transfer path, wherein a pore is provided in a place corresponding to an imaginary pixel point position in the shielding film and a storage section for storing an electric charge transferred along the vertical transfer path by a predetermined number of lines and for transferring the electric charge to a horizontal transfer path is provided in a connecting portion of the vertical transfer path and the horizontal transfer path.

5. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 4, wherein the photoelectric converting device is arranged in the row direction with a shift of a ½

pitch alternately.

6. A digital still camera comprising the solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 4 or 5, a mechanical shutter provided in a front part of the solid-state image pick-up device, and control means for driving the vertical transfer path at a higher speed than a transfer speed of a static image and fetching, to the storage section, only a signal charge of a valid line constituting a dynamic image when photographing the dynamic image with the mechanical shutter opened.

7. A solid-state image pick-up device comprising a photoreceptor provided in a two-dimensional array and serving to convert an incident light into a signal charge, a plurality of vertical transfer means for transferring the signal charge converted by the photoreceptor in a vertical direction, and horizontal transfer means for transferring the signal charge transferred in a horizontal direction which is orthogonal to the vertical transfer means,

an interval between devices provided in the vertical and horizontal directions for each of the photoreceptors being set to be a pitch, and the photoreceptors which are adjacent to each other being provided with a shift of an almost half pitch, and the vertical transfer means being formed to make a pair of two lines between the photoreceptors provided in the horizontal direction and being caused to make a detour every line for the photoreceptors which are adjacent to each other, the device comprising:

a solid-state image pick-up device in which a photoreceptor provided actually is set to be an actual pixel and a photoreceptor assumed to be provided in a space region surrounded by the actual pixel is set to be a virtual pixel, and vertical transfer means which is shielded and vertical transfer means having an optical opening formed in the vicinity of the virtual pixel are provided regularly;

shielding means for regulating an exposure time of the solid-state image pick-up device; and

signal processing means for carrying out an interpolation processing by the actual pixel using a signal obtained from the opening of the solid-state image pick-up device as actual data of the virtual pixel.

8. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 7, wherein the opening has a size set within a packet for storing the signal charge.

9. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the signal processing means carries out a thinning processing in a horizontal direction by using data of an actual pixel obtained through the shielded vertical transfer means in the set of the vertical transfer means in two lines which serve to transfer a signal charge of the photoreceptor with an array of a color filter segment to be color separated in a dynamic image photographing mode for reading at a predetermined interval in contrast with a static image photographing mode in which all of the actual data of the actual pixel and the virtual pixel are used.

10. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the solid-state image pick-up device carries out thinning reading in a vertical direction in the dynamic image photographing mode.

11. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a signal obtained in the opening is used as information of the virtual pixel in a static image photographing mode.

12. A solid-state image pick-up device comprising a photoreceptor provided in a two-dimensional array and serving to convert an incident light into a signal charge, a plurality of vertical transfer means for transferring the signal charge converted by the photoreceptor in a vertical direction, and horizontal transfer means for transferring the signal charge transferred in a horizontal direction which is orthogonal to the vertical transfer means,

an interval between devices provided in the vertical and horizontal directions for each of the photoreceptors being set to be a pitch, and the photoreceptors which are adjacent to each other being provided with a shift of an almost half pitch, and the vertical transfer means being formed to make a pair of two lines between the photoreceptors provided in the horizontal direction and being caused to make a detour every line for the photoreceptors which are adjacent to each other,

wherein a photoreceptor provided actually is set to be an actual pixel and a photoreceptor assumed to be provided in a space region surrounded by the actual pixel is set to be a virtual pixel, and first vertical transfer means which is shielded as the vertical transfer means and second vertical transfer means having an optical opening formed in the vicinity of the virtual pixel are provided regularly, and

the first vertical transfer means is provided in such a manner that an adjacent photoreceptor to the first vertical transfer means maintains the same relationship with a color array pattern of a color filter segment to be color separated which covers an adjacent photoreceptor to the vertical transfer means by aiming at the same color array pattern.

13. The solid-state image pick-up device according to claim 12, wherein the opening has a size set within a packet for storing the signal charge.

14. The solid-stage image pick-up device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a signal obtained in the opening is used as information of the virtual pixel in a static image photographing mode for using all of actual data of the actual pixel and the virtual pixel.

15. The solid-stage image pick-up device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein thinning reading in a vertical direction is carried out in a dynamic image photographing mode for reading at a predetermined interval in contrast with the static image photographing mode.