Image pick-up apparatus and image pick-up system

• US 6,952,015 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2002
• Issued: 10/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kameshima, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Gabor, Otilia
• Application Number:
  US10/202,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20040178349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 250/370.11, 250/363.07, 250/252.1, 250/363.09, 250/369, 348/227.1, 348/372
• US Class Current: 250/370.11
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/20184 Detector read-out circuitry, e.g. for clearing of traps, compensating for traps or compensating for direct hits
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/24 with semiconductor detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14609 Pixel-elements with integrated switching, control, storage or amplification elements scanning details of imagers (circuitry of solid-state image sensors H04N25/00); circuitry of imagers H04N25/70
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14676 X-ray, gamma-ray or corpuscular radiation imagers measuring X-, gamma- or corpuscular radiation G01T1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/617 for reducing electromagnetic interference, e.g. clocking noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/677 for reducing the column or line fixed pattern noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/745 Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/32 Transforming X-rays cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from X-rays H04N23/30; circuitry of SSIS for transforming X-rays into image signals H04N25/30

Abstract

An image pick-up apparatus and an image pick-up system constructed to prevent occurrence of random noise in a photographed image due to a random noise component produced in a reference supply circuit. An image pick-up apparatus has an area sensor driven by matrix driving, and a reference supply circuit for supplying a reference voltage for driving of the area sensor, and the reference voltage is supplied through a low-pass filter (LPF) coupled to the reference supply circuit. Further, a cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter preferably is determined so that an effective value of noise of the reference voltage having passed through the low-pass filter becomes not more than one-tenth of an effective value of random noise produced in pixels of the area sensor.

Claims

1. An image pick-up apparatus comprising an area sensor in which sensor elements are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate, and a reference supply circuit, for supplying a plurality of reference voltages for driving of the area sensor, which comprises regulators for regulating each of the reference voltages, wherein the reference voltages are supplied through a low-pass filter (LPF) coupled to the reference supply circuit, and wherein a cutoff frequency of said low-pass filter is determined so that an effective value of noise of the reference voltage having passed through said low-pass filter becomes not more than one-tenth of an effective value of random noise produced in pixels of the area sensor.

2. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cutoff frequency of said low-pass filter is determined according to a required response time for said reference voltage.

3. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cutoff frequency of said low-pass filter is lower than a sampling frequency of a sample hold circuit coupled to the area sensor.

4. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an amplifier is placed on the output side of said low-pass filter.

5. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a noise density of said amplifier is less than 3.3 nV/√

{square root over (Hz)}.

6. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area sensor comprises a two-dimensional array of pixels, each consisting of a photoelectric conversion element and a TFT, wherein said photoelectric conversion element is coupled to a drain electrode of said TFT, a gate electrode of said TFT to a common gate line, a source electrode of said TFT to a common data line, said common data line to a read device, and said common gate line to a gate drive device, thereby implementing matrix operation.

7. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said read device has an amplifier coupled to said common data line and being capable of reset operation and an amplifier reset voltage as said reference voltage is supplied thereto.

8. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a TFT on voltage and a TFT off voltage as said reference voltage are supplied to said gate drive device.

9. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a bias voltage for applying a bias voltage to said photoelectric conversion element, as said reference voltage, is supplied to the area sensor.

10. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said photoelectric conversion element and TFT are made of amorphous silicon or polysilicon.

11. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said photoelectric conversion element is a pin photodiode or MIS sensor.

12. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the area sensor is an X-ray area sensor further comprising a phosphor.

13. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the photoelectric conversion element of said area sensor directly converts X-rays incident into a semiconductor layer, into an electric charge to read the electric charge.

14. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said photoelectric conversion element has the semiconductor layer made of a material selected from gallium arsenide, gallium phosphide, lead iodide, mercury iodide, amorphous selenium, CdZn, and CdZnTe.

15. The image pick-up apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is an insulating substrate arid said reference supply circuit and LPF are formed on a crystalline substrate.

16. An image pick-up system comprising the image pick-up apparatus as set forth in claim 1, image processing means for processing a signal from the image pick-up apparatus into an image, recording means for recording a signal from the image processing means, display means for displaying a signal from the image processing means, and transmitting means for transmitting a signal from the image processing means.

17. The image pick-up system according to claim 16, further comprising a wavelength conversion element for converting radiation into wavelengths in a sensitive region of said sensor elements.