Solid-state image pickup device, method for driving solid-state image pickup device, and image pickup apparatus

• US 8,179,461 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2009
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Ryoji, Toyama, Takayuki, Mishina, Koji, Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Nhan T
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, TUAN H
• Application Number:
  US12/585,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20100134667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 348243-247, 348/294, 250/208.1, 257291-294
• US Class Current: 348/294
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/61 the noise originating only from the lens unit, e.g. flare, shading, vignetting or "cos4"
• 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 25/673 by using reference sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors

Abstract

A solid-state image pickup device includes a pixel array section including an effective pixel region, an optical black pixel region, and a pixel region between the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region; a vertical drive section which performs driving so that signals of pixels of the pixel region disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a vertical direction are skipped and signals of pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read; and a horizontal drive section which performs driving so that, from among the pixels selected by the vertical drive section, the signals of the pixels of the pixel region disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a horizontal direction are skipped and the signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read.

Claims

1. A solid-state image pickup device comprising:

a pixel array section including an effective pixel region having pixels for providing signals that are to be used as image signals, an optical black pixel region having pixels, which are shielded from light, for providing signals that are to be used as black reference signals, and a pixel region that is provided between the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region and that has a light-shielding structure which is the same as a light-shielding structure of the effective pixel region;

a vertical drive section configured to perform driving so that signals of pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a vertical direction are skipped and signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read; and

a horizontal drive section configured to perform driving so that, from among the pixels which are selected by driving performed by the vertical drive section so that the signals of the pixels are read, the signals of the pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a horizontal direction are skipped and the signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read.

2. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 1, further comprising a column processing section configured to temporarily hold the signals of the pixels which are selected by driving performed by the vertical drive section so that the signals of the pixels are read,

wherein the horizontal drive section skips, from among the signals of the pixels that are held by the column processing section, the signals of the pixels of the pixel region that are disposed at the side of the effective pixel region in the horizontal direction.

3. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 2, wherein an operation of a circuit portion of the column processing section that holds the signals of the pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at the side of the effective pixel region in the horizontal direction halts.

4. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 3, wherein the column processing section has at least one of a noise reduction function of removing noise components that are included in the signals of the pixels and an analog-to-digital conversion function of converting the signals of the pixels to digital signals.

5. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the effective pixel region and the position of the pixel region are fixed on the pixel array section.

6. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 5, wherein each of the pixels of the pixel region has an overflow path through which excess charge that has been generated in a photoelectric conversion element is drained into a substrate or a floating diffusion unit.

7. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the effective pixel region and the position of the pixel region are variable on the pixel array section.

8. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 5 or 7, wherein the vertical drive section sets a gate voltage of a transfer gate between a photoelectric conversion element and a floating diffusion unit of each of the pixels of the pixel region that are disposed at the side of the effective pixel region in the vertical direction to be higher than a gate voltage in a case in which each of the pixels of the effective pixel region is in an accumulation state.

9. The solid-state image pickup device according to claim 7, wherein each of the pixels of the pixel region has a structure that is the same as a structure of each of the pixels of the effective pixel region.

10. A method for driving a solid-state image pickup device, the solid-state image pickup device including a pixel array section, the pixel array section having an effective pixel region with pixels for providing signals that are to be used as image signals, an optical black pixel region with pixels, which are shielded from light, for providing signals that are to be used as black reference signals, and a pixel region that is provided between the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region and that has a light-shielding structure which is the same as a light-shielding structure of the effective pixel region, the method comprising the steps of:

performing driving so that signals of pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a vertical direction are skipped and signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read; and

performing driving so that, from among the pixels which are selected in the performing of driving so that the signals of the pixels are read, the signals of the pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a horizontal direction are skipped and the signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read.

11. An image pickup apparatus using a solid-state image pickup device, the solid-state image pickup device including

a pixel array section including an effective pixel region having pixels for providing signals that are to be used as image signals, an optical black pixel region having pixels, which are shielded from light, for providing signals that are to be used as black reference signals, and a pixel region that is provided between the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region and that has a light-shielding structure which is the same as a light-shielding structure of the effective pixel region,

a vertical drive section configured to perform driving so that signals of pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a vertical direction are skipped and signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read, and

a horizontal drive section configured to perform driving so that, from among the pixels which are selected by driving performed by the vertical drive section so that the signals of the pixels are read, the signals of the pixels of the pixel region which are disposed at a side of the effective pixel region in a horizontal direction are skipped and the signals of the pixels of the effective pixel region and the optical black pixel region are read.