SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE, SIGNAL PROCESSING METHOD THEREFOR, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20170171470A1
• Filed: 08/21/2015
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Group Corp.
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: SAKIOKA, Youji, TACHI, Masayuki, NISHIMAKI, Hisashi, YOSHIDA, Taishin
• Granted Patent: US 9,918,031 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14607 Geometry of the photosensitive area
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14623 Optical shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14627 Microlenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1464 Back illuminated imager structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14641 Electronic components shared by two or more pixel-elements, e.g. one amplifier shared by two pixel elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14645 Colour imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/84 for processing colour signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/133 including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/135 based on four or more different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/46 by combining or binning pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/611 Correction of chromatic aberration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/704 Pixels specially adapted for focusing, e.g. phase difference pixel sets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/77 Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device, a signal processing method therefor, and an electronic apparatus enabling sensitivity correction in which a sensitivity difference between solid-state imaging devices is suppressed.

The solid-state imaging device includes a pixel unit in which one microlens is formed for a plurality of pixels in a manner such that a boundary of the microlens coincides with boundaries of the pixels. The correction circuit corrects a sensitivity difference between the pixels inside the pixel unit based on a correction coefficient. The present disclosure is applicable to, for example, a solid-state imaging device and the like.

Claims

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

a pixel unit in which one microlens is formed for a plurality of pixels in a manner such that a boundary of the microlens coincides with boundaries of the pixels; and

a correction circuit configured to correct a sensitivity difference between pixels inside the pixel unit based on a correction coefficient.

2. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the correction coefficient is calculated based on an added signal obtained by adding pixel signals of the respective pixels of the pixel unit.

3. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the pixel unit includes an adding unit configured to generate the added signal.

4. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 3, wherein the adding unit is an FD shared by respective pixels of the pixel unit.

5. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the correction coefficient is calculated based on a pixel average value obtained by dividing the added signal by the number of pixels of the pixel unit.

6. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 5, wherein the correction coefficient is calculated by a ratio between the pixel average value and a pixel signal of each of the pixels of the pixel unit.

7. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the correction circuit also performs adding processing in which the added signal is calculated by adding pixel signals of respective pixels of the pixel unit.

8. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, further including a memory configured to store the correction coefficient,

wherein the correction circuit performs correction based on the correction coefficient obtained from the memory.

9. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

a plurality of the pixel units is arranged inside a pixel array unit in which the pixels are two-dimensionally arrayed in a matrix, and

the correction coefficient is provided for each of pixels constituting the pixel unit.

10. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

a plurality of the pixel units is arranged inside a pixel array unit in which the pixels are two-dimensionally arrayed in a matrix, and

the correction coefficient is provided for each of regions obtained by dividing the pixel array unit into predetermined number.

11. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the correction coefficient is provided per wavelength of light received by the pixel.

12. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1,

wherein the correction coefficient is provided per color temperature of light received by the pixel.

13. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 12, wherein the correction circuit uses a pixel signal of another pixel to estimate a color temperature of light received by the pixel, and performs correction based on the correction coefficient corresponding to the estimated color temperature.

14. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 13, wherein the pixel from which a color temperature of light is estimated is a white pixel formed with a white color filter.

15. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state imaging device is a back-illumination type.

16. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, having a stacked structure in which a plurality of semiconductor substrates is stacked.

17. A signal processing method in a solid-state imaging device, wherein the solid-state imaging device includes a pixel unit in which one microlens is formed for a plurality of pixels in a manner such that a boundary of the microlens coincides with boundaries of the pixels, and a correction circuit of the solid-state imaging device corrects a sensitivity difference between pixels inside the pixel unit based on a correction coefficient.

18. An electronic apparatus provided with a solid-state imaging device that includes:

a pixel unit in which one microlens is formed for a plurality of pixels in a manner such that a boundary of the microlens coincides with boundaries of the pixels; and

a correction circuit configured to correct a sensitivity difference between pixels inside the pixel unit based on a correction coefficient.