SOLID-STATE IMAGING ELEMENT, METHOD OF DRIVING SOLID-STATE IMAGING ELEMENT, AND IMAGING DEVICE

• US 20130313410A1
• Filed: 07/19/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: GOTO, Takashi
• Application Number:
  US13/946,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20130313410A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/208.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/709 Circuitry for control of the power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors

Abstract

A solid-state imaging element 100 includes a control unit 104 that performs, in each frame, driving to inject electric charge into a storage unit 11 from a power source supplying reset voltage by controlling the reset voltage supplied to a reset Tr 31 and to discharge some of the electric charge that has been injected into the storage unit 11 to the power source by controlling the reset voltage.

Claims

1. A solid-state imaging element that has a photoelectric converting layer that is formed above a semiconductor substrate and made of an organic material, and an MOS type signal readout circuit that is formed on the semiconductor substrate and reads out signals according to electric charge generated in the photoelectric converting layer,

wherein the signal readout circuit includes a first electric charge storage unit that stores electric charge generated in the photoelectric converting layer, a second electric charge storage unit to which the electric charge stored in the first electric charge storage unit is transferred, a transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge stored in the first electric charge storage unit to the second electric charge storage unit, a reset transistor that resets a potential of the second electric charge storage unit, and an output transistor that outputs a signal according to the potential of the second electric charge storage unit, and

wherein the solid-state imaging element comprises:

a control unit that performs, in each frame, driving to inject electric charge into the first electric charge storage unit from a semiconductor region by changing a potential of the semiconductor region in which a power source of the reset transistor is connected from a deep state to a shallow state, and to discharge the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit to the semiconductor region by changing, from this state, the potential of the semiconductor region from the shallow state to a deep state.

2. The solid-state imaging element according to claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of pixels each having the photoelectric converting layer and the signal readout circuit,

wherein a part of the signal readout circuit is shared by the plurality of adjacent pixels.

3. The solid-state imaging element according to claim 2,

wherein the plurality of pixels sharing the part of the signal readout circuit share the reset transistor, and

wherein the control unit performs driving to perform injection and discharge of electric charge in the plurality of pixels individually.

4. The solid-state imaging element according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit turns on the transfer transistor when electric charge is injected into the first electric charge storage unit.

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

wherein the control unit maintains the transfer transistor turned on even when the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit is discharged to the semiconductor region.

6. The solid-state imaging element according to claim 5,

wherein the control unit completes the discharge of the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit to the semiconductor region by turning off the transfer transistor, and controls an amount of the injected electric charge remaining in the first electric charge storage unit according to a length of a time in which the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit is discharged to the semiconductor region.

7. The solid-state imaging element according to claim 6,

wherein the control unit turns off the transfer transistor in a state in which a potential of the first electric charge storage unit is more shallow than a potential of a channel region of the transfer transistor decided based solely on a voltage applied to a gate electrode of the transfer transistor when the transfer transistor is turned on.

8. The solid-state imaging element according to claim 6,

wherein the control unit changes the length of the time in which the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit is discharged to the semiconductor region according to a captured scene.

16. An imaging device comprising:

the solid-state imaging element according to claim 1.

9. A method of driving a solid-state imaging element that has a photoelectric converting layer that is formed above a semiconductor substrate and made of an organic material, and an MOS type signal readout circuit that is formed on the semiconductor substrate and reads out signals according to electric charge generated in the photoelectric converting layer,

wherein the signal readout circuit includes a first electric charge storage unit that stores electric charge generated in the photoelectric converting layer, a second electric charge storage unit to which the electric charge stored in the first electric charge storage unit is transferred, a transfer transistor that transfers the electric charge stored in the first electric charge storage unit to the second electric charge storage unit, a reset transistor that resets a potential of the second electric charge storage unit, and an output transistor that outputs a signal according to the potential of the second electric charge storage unit, and

wherein the method comprises:

a drive step of performing, in each frame, driving to inject electric charge into the first electric charge storage unit from a semiconductor region by changing a potential of the semiconductor region in which a power source of the reset transistor is connected from a deep state to a shallow state, and to discharge the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit to the semiconductor region by changing, from this state, the potential of the semiconductor region from the shallow state to a deep state.

10. The method of driving a solid-state imaging element according to claim 9,

wherein the solid-state imaging element has a plurality of pixels each having the photoelectric converting layer and the signal readout circuit, and a part of the signal readout circuit is shared by the plurality of adjacent pixels, and

wherein, in the drive step, driving to perform injection and discharge of electric charge is performed in the plurality of adjacent pixels individually.

11. The method of driving a solid-state imaging element according to claim 9,

wherein, in the drive step, the transfer transistor is turned on when electric charge is injected into the first electric charge storage unit.

12. The method of driving a solid-state imaging element according to claim 11,

wherein, in the drive step, the transfer transistor is maintained turned on even when the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit is discharged to the semiconductor region.

13. The method of driving a solid-state imaging element according to claim 12,

wherein, in the drive step, the discharge of the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit to the semiconductor region is completed by turning off the transfer transistor, and an amount of the injected electric charge remaining in the first electric charge storage unit is controlled according to a length of a time in which the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit is discharged to the semiconductor region.

14. The method of driving a solid-state imaging element according to claim 13,

wherein, in the drive step, the transfer transistor is turned off in a state in which a potential of the first electric charge storage unit is more shallow than a potential of a channel region of the transfer transistor decided based solely on a voltage applied to a gate electrode of the transfer transistor when the transfer transistor is turned on.

15. The method of driving a solid-state imaging element according to claim 13,

wherein, in the drive step, the length of the time in which the electric charge that has been injected into the first electric charge storage unit is discharged to the semiconductor region is changed according to a captured scene.