SOLID-STATE IMAGING APPARATUS

• US 20130248939A1
• Filed: 03/07/2013
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Seiichirou, Matsuda, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,093,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/231
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14601 Structural or functional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14806 Structural or functional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14831 Area CCD imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/63 applied to dark current
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/767 Horizontal readout lines, multiplexers or registers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 3/1575 Picture signal readout register, e.g. shift registers, interline shift registers

Abstract

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of pixels, each pixel including: a photoelectric conversion unit; an amplification element; a first signal holding unit and a second signal holding unit arranged on an electric pathway between the photoelectric conversion unit and an input node of the amplification element; a first electric charge transfer unit configured to transfer an electron of the photoelectric conversion unit to the first signal holding unit; and a second electric charge transfer unit configured to transfer an electron held by the first signal holding unit to the second signal holding unit, wherein a voltage supplied to a first control electrode when the electron of the photoelectric conversion unit is transferred to the first signal holding unit is lower than a voltage supplied to a second control electrode when the electron held by the first signal holding unit is transferred to the second signal holding unit.

Claims

1. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, wherein each of the pixels comprises:

a photoelectric conversion element configured to generate an electric charge by photoelectric conversion;

a floating diffusion;

a transfer transistor configured to transfer the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element to the floating diffusion;

an amplifying portion configured to output a signal based on an electric charge in the floating diffusion; and

a reset transistor configured to reset a voltage of the floating diffusion, wherein the solid-state imaging apparatus further comprises

a connecting transistor configured to connect electrically between the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, and a threshold voltage of the connecting transistor is lower than a threshold voltage of the reset transistor.

2. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the amplifying portion is shared by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements.

3. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the connecting transistor is electrically connected to a plurality of the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, and adds the electric charges in plurality of the floating diffusions electrically connected thereto.

4. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, wherein each of the pixels comprises:

a photoelectric conversion element configured to generate an electric charge by photoelectric conversion;

a floating diffusion;

a transfer transistor configured to transfer the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element to the floating diffusion;

an amplifying portion configured to output a signal based on an electric charge in the floating diffusion; and

a reset transistor configured to reset a voltage of the floating diffusion, wherein the solid-state imaging apparatus further comprises

a connecting transistor configured to connect electrically between the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, the connecting transistor has a channel region doped with an impurity of a quantity different from a quantity of an impurity doped into a channel region of the reset transistor.

5. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

a threshold voltage of the connecting transistor is lower than a threshold voltage of the reset transistor.

6. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the amplifying portion is shared by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements.

7. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the connecting transistor is electrically connected to a plurality of the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, and adds the electric charges in plurality of the floating diffusions electrically connected thereto.

8. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, wherein each of the pixels comprises:

a photoelectric conversion element configured to generate an electric charge by photoelectric conversion;

a floating diffusion;

a transfer transistor configured to transfer the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element to the floating diffusion;

an amplifying portion configured to output a signal based on an electric charge in the floating diffusion; and

a reset transistor configured to reset a voltage in the floating diffusion, wherein the solid-state imaging apparatus further comprises

a connecting transistor configured to connect electrically between the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, the connecting transistor has a channel length longer than that of the reset transistor.

9. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

a threshold voltage of the connecting transistor is lower than a threshold voltage of the reset transistor.

10. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the amplifying portion is shared by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements.

11. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the connecting transistor is electrically connected to a plurality of the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, and adds the electric charges in plurality of the floating diffusions electrically connected thereto.

12. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, wherein each of the pixels comprises:

a photoelectric conversion element configured to generate an electric charge by photoelectric conversion;

a floating diffusion;

a transfer transistor configured to transfer the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element to the floating diffusion;

an amplifying portion configured to output a signal based on an electric charge in the floating diffusion; and

a reset transistor configured to reset a voltage in the floating diffusion, wherein the solid-state imaging apparatus further comprises

a connecting transistor configured to connect electrically between the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, a voltage derived by subtracting from a high level voltage of a gate of the connecting transistor a reset voltage of the floating diffusion is higher than a threshold voltage of the connecting transistor.

13. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

a high level voltage of the reset transistor is lower than the high level voltage of the gate of the connecting transistor.

14. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

a drain voltage of the reset transistor is lower than the high level voltage of the gate of the connecting transistor.

15. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the amplifying portion is shared by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements.

16. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the connecting transistor is electrically connected to a plurality of the floating diffusions of the plurality of pixels, and adds the electric charges in plurality of the floating diffusions electrically connected thereto.