SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE AND IMAGING DEVICE

• US 20130033631A1
• Filed: 06/26/2012
• Published: 02/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Mabuchi, Keiji
• Application Number:
  US13/533,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20130033631A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/302
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/59 by controlling the amount of charge storable in the pixel, e.g. modification of the charge conversion ratio of the floating node capacitance
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/771 comprising storage means other than floating diffusion

Abstract

There is provided a solid-state imaging device including pixels configured to convert an electromagnetic wave into charge and output a signal corresponding a charge amount; and a pixel unit in which the pixels are two-dimensionally arranged, and a configuration of a part for converting the electromagnetic wave into the charge is the same in adjacent pixels, but a relation between the charge amount and a signal amount is allowed to differ between the adjacent pixels.

Claims

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

pixels configured to convert an electromagnetic wave into charge and output a signal corresponding a charge amount; and

a pixel unit in which the pixels are two-dimensionally arranged, and a configuration of a part for converting the electromagnetic wave into the charge is the same in adjacent pixels, but a relation between the charge amount and a signal amount is allowed to differ between the adjacent pixels.

2. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein a conversion gain, which is the relation between the charge amount and the signal amount, is switched in each pixel, and a state with no difference in the conversion gain and a state with different conversion gains are switched in the adjacent pixels.

3. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein a capacity of a part for holding the charge of the pixel is changed to change the conversion gain of the pixel.

4. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 3, wherein the pixel unit includes the pixels arranged in a matrix form, and the solid-state imaging device further comprises:

a switch wire provided corresponding to each pixel row; and

a switch transistor disposed in each pixel and connected to the switch wire to change the capacity.

5. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 4, wherein, in the pixels of each row, odd-numbered pixels and even-numbered pixels are alternately connected to different switch wires.

6. An imaging device comprising:

a solid-state imaging device including pixels configured to convert an electromagnetic wave into charge and output a signal corresponding a charge amount, and a pixel unit in which the pixels are two-dimensionally arranged, and a configuration of a part for converting the electromagnetic wave into the charge is the same in adjacent pixels, but a relation between the charge amount and a signal amount is allowed to differ between the adjacent pixels;

an optical unit configured to guide incident light to the solid-state imaging device; and

a signal processing circuit configured to process an output signal of the solid-state imaging device.

7. The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the relation between the charge amount and the signal amount in the pixels of the solid-state imaging device is changed by external input.