IMAGE PICKUP APPARATUS

• US 20100128151A1
• Filed: 01/05/2010
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Inui, Fumihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,427,558 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/273
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14643 Photodiode arrays; MOS imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/63 applied to dark current
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/67 applied to fixed-pattern noise, e.g. non-uniformity of response
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/672 between adjacent sensors or output registers for reading a single image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/767 Horizontal readout lines, multiplexers or registers

Abstract

There is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising two-dimensionally arrayed pixels, a plurality of read-out channels each including a read-out circuit and an amplifier circuit, a parallel-serial conversion circuit which sequentially selects pixel signals output via the plurality of read-out channels and outputs a series of pixel signals, and a clamp unit which clamps the reset level included a in an output signal from the read-out circuit in order to remove an offset generated in each read-out channel.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising:

a plurality of pixels arranged along rows and columns; and

a plurality of read out channels, each arranged correspondingly to one of the columns, for reading out a signal from the plurality of pixels,

wherein each of the plurality of read out channels includes;

a correlation double sampling circuit for receiving the signal read out from the plurality of pixels and reducing a noise contained in the signal;

an amplifier for amplifying the signal of which noise is reduced; and

an offset removing unit for subjecting a signal outputted through the amplifier to an offset correction processing.

22. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of pixels has a color filter.