# US 11,115,609 B2 · Solid-state imaging apparatus and driving method thereof > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,115,609 B2 - Document ID: US11115609B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/890,207 - Filed: 2020-06-02 - Published: 2020-10-08 - Granted: 2021-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2017-08-15 - Assignees: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation - Applicants: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation - Inventors: Fumiaki Sano - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11115609B2 ## CPC - G01T 1/248: {Silicon photomultipliers [SiPM], e.g. an avalanche photodiode [APD] array on a common Si substrate} - H04N 25/50: Control of the SSIS exposure - H04N 25/445: by skipping some contiguous pixels within the read portion of the array - H04N 25/535: by dynamic region selection - H04N 25/77: Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components - H04N 25/773: comprising photon counting circuits, e.g. single photon detection [SPD] or single photon avalanche diodes [SPAD] - H10F 30/2255: {in which the active layers form heterostructures, e.g. SAM structures} - H10F 39/1825: {Multicolour image sensors having stacked structure, e.g. NPN, NPNPN or multiple quantum well [MQW] structures} - H10F 39/8033: {Photosensitive area} - H10F 39/813: {Electronic components shared by multiple pixels, e.g. one amplifier shared by two pixels} - G01T: MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION (radiation analysis of materials, mass spectrometry G01N23/00; tubes for determining the presence, intensity, density or energy of radiation or particles H01J47/00) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION ## Abstract The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging apparatus and a driving method that can perform imaging at lower power consumption. By providing the solid-state imaging apparatus including a pixel array section on which a plurality of SPAD pixels is two-dimensionally arranged, in which in a case where illuminance becomes first illuminance higher than reference illuminance, a part of the SPAD pixels of the plurality of pixels arranged on the pixel array section is thinned, it is possible to image at lower power consumption. The present technology can be applied to an image sensor, for example. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A light detecting device, comprising: a plurality of avalanche photodiodes arranged in a two-dimensional array, including a first avalanche photodiode and a second avalanche photodiode; a first transistor coupled to an anode or a cathode of the first avalanche photodiode; and a second transistor coupled to an anode or a cathode of the second avalanche photodiode, wherein, in a first mode, the first transistor is in an ON state and the second transistor is in an ON state, wherein, in a second mode, the first transistor is in the ON state and the second transistor is in an OFF state, wherein the plurality of avalanche photodiodes are disposed at a side of a first surface of a semiconductor substrate that is a light incident surface, and the anode or the cathode of the first avalanche photodiode and the anode or the cathode of the second avalanche photodiode are disposed at a side of a second surface opposite to the first surface, and wherein the light detecting device is configured to switch between the first mode and the second mode according to an amount of incident light. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The light detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the light detecting device is configured to switch from the first mode to the second mode in a case where the amount of incident light exceeds a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 3 A light detecting device comprising: a plurality of avalanche photodiodes arranged in a two-dimensional array, including a first avalanche photodiode and a second avalanche photodiode; a first transistor coupled to an anode or a cathode of the first avalanche photodiode; and a second transistor coupled to an anode or a cathode of the second avalanche photodiode, wherein, in a first mode, the first transistor is in an ON state and the second transistor is in an ON state, wherein, in a second mode, the first transistor is in the ON state and the second transistor is in an OFF state, wherein the plurality of avalanche photodiodes are disposed at a side of a first surface of a semiconductor substrate that is a light incident surface, and the anode or the cathode of the first avalanche photodiode and the anode or the cathode of the second avalanche photodiode are disposed at a side of a second surface opposite to the first surface, wherein, in a third mode, the first transistor is in an OFF state and the second transistor is in the OFF state, wherein the light detecting device is configured to switch from the first mode to the second mode in a case where the amount of incident light exceeds a first predetermined threshold, and wherein the light detecting device is configured to switch from the second mode to the third mode in a case where the amount of incident light exceeds a second predetermined threshold larger than the first predetermined threshold. ### Claim 4 The light detecting device, comprising: a plurality of avalanche photodiodes arranged in a two-dimensional array, including a first avalanche photodiode and a second avalanche photodiode; a first transistor coupled to an anode or a cathode of the first avalanche photodiode; and a second transistor coupled to an anode or a cathode of the second avalanche photodiode, wherein, in a first mode, the first transistor is in an ON state and the second transistor is in an ON state, wherein, in a second mode, the first transistor is in the ON state and the second transistor is in an OFF state, wherein the plurality of avalanche photodiodes are disposed at a side of a first surface of a semiconductor substrate that is a light incident surface, and the anode or the cathode of the first avalanche photodiode and the anode or the cathode of the second avalanche photodiode are disposed at a side of a second surface opposite to the first surface, wherein the two-dimensional array includes a first block having an n=n subset of the plurality of avalanche photodiodes including the first avalanche photodiode, and a second block having an m=m subset of the plurality of avalanche photodiodes including the second avalanche photodiode, and wherein n and m are integers greater than one. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The light detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the anode or the cathode of the first avalanche photodiode and the anode or the cathode of the second avalanche photodiode are constituted by a shared electrode. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The light detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a control circuit configured to output a signal to a gate of the second transistor, thereby to switch the second transistor between the ON state and the OFF state. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The light detecting device according to claim 6, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether an amount of incident light exceeds a predetermined threshold. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The light detecting device according to claim 7, further comprising: an illuminance sensor configured to detect the amount of incident light, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether the amount of incident light exceeds the predetermined threshold based on an output of the illuminance sensor. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The light detecting device according to claim 7, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether the amount of incident light exceeds the predetermined threshold based on an output image of the light detecting device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The light detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a color filter array disposed over the plurality of avalanche photodiodes. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The light detecting device according to claim 10, wherein the color filter array includes red color filters, blue color filters, and green color filters arranged in a Bayer arrangement pattern. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) A distance sensor comprising the light detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the distance sensor is configured to measure a distance based on a time of flight method. ### Claim 13 (depends on 3) A distance sensor comprising the light detecting device according to claim 3, wherein the distance sensor is configured to measure a distance based on a time of flight method. ### Claim 14 (depends on 4) A distance sensor comprising the light detecting device according to claim 4, wherein the distance sensor is configured to measure a distance based on a time of flight method.