IMAGING DEVICE AND IMAGING SYSTEM

• US 20200137332A1
• Filed: 10/03/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: NISHITANI, TAKAYUKI, KOBAYASHI, TSUTOMU
• Granted Patent: US 10,958,857 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14612 involving a transistor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1463 Pixel isolation structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14636 Interconnect structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14643 Photodiode arrays; MOS imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/617 for reducing electromagnetic interference, e.g. clocking noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/63 applied to dark current
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/633 by using optical black pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/78 Readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters

Abstract

An imaging device includes a plurality of pixels, a first circuit, a first signal path, and a second signal path. The plurality of pixels includes a first pixel and a second pixel. The first circuit includes a first wiring part and a second wiring part. A signal of the first pixel flows through the first signal path. A signal of the second pixel flows through a second signal path. In a flow of the signal of the first pixel, a first crossing portion is located upstream of a first extension portion. In a flow of the signal of the second pixel, a second crossing portion is located upstream of a second extension portion.

Claims

1. An imaging device comprising:

a plurality of pixels including a first pixel and a second pixel;

a first circuit including a first wiring part and a second wiring part, the first wiring part including one or more first voltage lines to which a first voltage is applied, the second wiring part including one or more second voltage lines to which a second voltage is applied, the second voltage being different from the first voltage;

a first signal path through which a signal of the first pixel flows; and

a second signal path through which a signal of the second pixel flows,

wherein when in a plan view a region closer to each of the one or more first voltage lines than any of the one or more second voltage lines is defined as a first region and a region closer to each of the one or more second voltage lines than any of the one or more first voltage lines is defined as a second region, the first signal path includes a first crossing portion where the first signal path crosses the second signal path in the plan view and a first extension portion that extends within the second region in the plan view and the second signal path includes a second crossing portion where the second signal path crosses the first signal path in the plan view and a second extension portion that extends within the first region in the plan view,

in a flow of the signal of the first pixel, the first crossing portion is located upstream of the first extension portion, and

in a flow of the signal of the second pixel, the second crossing portion is located upstream of the second extension portion.

2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

the first voltage is a power supply voltage, and

the second voltage is a ground voltage.

3. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of pixels constitute a pixel array having at least one row and a plurality of columns, and

a column of the pixel array to which the first pixel belongs and a column of the pixel array to which the second pixel belongs are adjacent to each other.

4. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

in the plan view, the one or more first voltage lines, the one or more second voltage lines, the first extension portion, and the second extension portion extend parallel to one another.

5. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a multi-layer wiring layer including a first wiring layer and a second wiring layer that is different from the first wiring layer,

wherein the first wiring layer includes the first crossing portion, and

the second wiring layer includes the second crossing portion.

6. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

in the plan view, the first signal path further includes a first node and a second node,

in the plan view, the second signal path further includes a third node and a fourth node,

in the flow of the signal of the first pixel, the first node is located upstream of the first crossing portion and the second node is located between the first crossing portion and the first extension portion, and

in the flow of the signal of the second pixel, the third node is located upstream of the second crossing portion and the fourth node is located between the second crossing portion and the second extension portion,

the imaging device further comprising a selector,

wherein the selector includes

a first switch connected between the first node and the fourth node,

a second switch connected between the first node and the second node,

a third switch connected between the third node and the fourth node, and

a fourth switch connected between the third node and the second node.

7. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a second circuit including a third wiring part including one or more voltage lines and a fourth wiring part including a plurality of voltage lines,

wherein the one or more of voltage lines of the third wiring part include a third voltage line,

the plurality of voltage lines of the fourth wiring part include a fourth voltage line and a fifth voltage line that are adjacent to the third voltage line,

the third voltage line is located between the fourth voltage line and the fifth voltage line,

in the plan view, a pitch between the one or more first voltage lines and the one or more second voltage lines and a pitch between the third voltage line and each of the fourth and fifth voltage lines are different from each other,

when in the plan view a region between the third voltage line and the fourth voltage line is defined as a first pitch region and a region between the third voltage line and the fifth voltage line is defined as a second pitch region, the first signal path further includes a first pitch portion that extends within the first pitch region in the plan view and the second signal path further includes a second pitch portion that extends within the second pitch region in the plan view,

in the flow of the signal of the first pixel, the first pitch portion is located upstream of the first crossing portion, and

in the flow of the signal of the second pixel, the second pitch portion is located upstream of the second crossing portion.

8. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

the first circuit further includes a first transistor of a first conductivity type and a second transistor of a second conductivity type that is different from the first conductivity type,

the first transistor is connected to any of the one or more first voltage lines, and

the second transistor is connected to any of the one or more second voltage lines.

9. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a second circuit,

wherein the first circuit further includes a first transistor of a first conductivity type and a second transistor of a second conductivity type that is different from the first conductivity type,

the second circuit includes a third transistor of the first conductivity type and a fourth transistor of the second conductivity type,

when a center of gravity of a gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor is defined as a first center of gravity and a center of gravity of a gate of the third transistor and a gate of the fourth transistor is defined as a second center of gravity, a direction of arrangement of the first transistor and the second transistor and a direction of arrangement of the third transistor and the fourth transistor are different from each other in the plan view,

in the plan view, the first signal path includes a portion that is closest to the second center of gravity and a portion that is closest to the first center of gravity,

in the plan view, the second signal path includes a portion that is closest to the second center of gravity and a portion that is closest to the first center of gravity,

in the flow of the signal of the first pixel, the portion of the first signal path that is closest to the second center of gravity is located upstream of the portion of the first signal path that is closest to the first center of gravity, and

in the flow of the signal of the second pixel, the portion of the second signal path that is closest to the second center of gravity is located upstream of the portion of the second signal path that is closest to the first center of gravity.

10. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of pixel include a first OB pixel, the first OB pixel being an optical black pixel,

the imaging device further comprising:

a signal processing circuit; and

a first OB path through which a signal of the first OB pixel flows,

wherein in the plan view, the first OB path includes a first OB extension portion that extends within the second region, and

the signal processing circuit performs an optical black correction on the signal of the first pixel with use of the signal of the first OB pixel, the signal of the first pixel having passed through the first extension portion, the signal of the first OB pixel having passed through the first OB extension portion.

11. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of pixels include a third pixel,

the imaging device further comprising a third signal path through which a signal of the third pixel flows,

wherein in the plan view, the third signal path includes a third extension portion that extends within the second region.

12. The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein

the plurality of pixels include a fourth pixel,

the imaging device further comprising a fourth signal path through which a signal of the fourth pixel flows,

wherein in the plan view, the fourth signal path includes a fourth extension portion that extends within the first region.

13. The imaging device according to claim 12, wherein

in the plan view, the third signal path includes a portion that extends from the third pixel to the second region,

in the plan view, the fourth signal path includes a portion that extends from the fourth pixel to the first region, and

the portion that extends from the third pixel to the second region does not cross the portion that extends from the fourth pixel to the first region.

14. The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein

the first pixel includes a first color filter,

the second pixel includes a second color filter,

the third pixel includes a third color filter,

the first color filter and the third color filter are color filters of a first color, and

the second color filter is a color filter of a second color that is different from the first color.

15. The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein

the first pixel and the third pixel are each a first type of pixel selected from among four types of pixel consisting of an R pixel, a B pixel, a Gr pixel, and a Gb pixel,

the second pixel is a second type of pixel selected from among four types of pixel consisting of an R pixel, a B pixel, a Gr pixel, and a Gb pixel, and

the first type of pixel and the second type of pixel are different from each other.

16. The imaging device according to claim 11, further comprising a signal processing circuit,

wherein the signal processing circuit performs, on both the signal of the first pixel and the signal of the third pixel, corrections that reduce noise components that are superimposed in the second region, the signal of the first pixel having passed through the first extension portion, the signal of the third pixel having passed through the third extension portion.

17. The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein

the plurality of pixel include a first OB pixel, the first OB pixel being an optical black pixel,

the imaging device further comprising:

a signal processing circuit; and

a first OB path through which a signal of the first OB pixel flows,

wherein in the plan view, the first OB path includes a first OB extension portion that extends within the second region, and

the signal processing circuit performs an optical black correction on the signal of the first pixel with use of the signal of the first OB pixel, the signal of the first pixel having passed through the first extension portion, the signal of the first OB pixel having passed through the first OB extension portion.

18. An imaging system comprising:

the imaging device according to claim 1; and

a signal processing device provided outside the imaging device,

wherein the plurality of pixel include a first OB pixel, the first OB pixel being an optical black pixel,

the imaging device further includes a first OB path through which a signal of the first OB pixel flows,

in the plan view, the first OB path includes a first OB extension portion that extends within the second region, and

the signal processing device performs an optical black correction on the signal of the first pixel with use of the signal of the first OB pixel, the signal of the first pixel having passed through the first extension portion, the signal of the first OB pixel having passed through the first OB extension portion.

19. An imaging system comprising:

the imaging device according to claim 11; and

a signal processing device provided outside the imaging device,

wherein the signal processing device performs, on both the signal of the first pixel and the signal of the third pixel, corrections that reduce noise components that are superimposed in the second region, the signal of the first pixel having passed through the first extension portion, the signal of the third pixel having passed through the third extension portion.