# US 12,120,448 B2 · Imaging device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,120,448 B2 - Document ID: US12120448B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/683,465 - Filed: 2022-03-01 - Published: 2022-06-16 - Granted: 2024-10-15 - Earliest claimed: 2019-09-06 - Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Shota Yamada; Motonori Ishii; Shigetaka Kasuga; Masato Takemoto; Yutaka Hirose - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12120448B2 ## CPC - H04N 25/771: comprising storage means other than floating diffusion - H04N 25/778: comprising amplifiers shared between a plurality of pixels, i.e. at least one part of the amplifier must be on the sensor array itself - H04N 25/65: applied to reset noise, e.g. KTC noise related to CMOS structures by techniques other than CDS - H04N 25/773: comprising photon counting circuits, e.g. single photon detection [SPD] or single photon avalanche diodes [SPAD] - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract An imaging device includes: a solid-state imaging element having a plurality of pixel cells arranged in a matrix; and a signal processing part configured to process a detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells. The pixel cells each include an avalanche photodiode and output a voltage corresponding to a count number of photons received by the avalanche photodiode as the detection signal. The signal processing part includes a variation calculation part configured to calculate a variation between the pixel cells in the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, and a correction calculation part configured to correct the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, on the basis of the variation calculated by the variation calculation part. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An imaging device comprising: a solid-state imaging element having a plurality of pixel cells arranged in a matrix; and a signal processing part configured to process a detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, wherein the pixel cells each include an avalanche photodiode and output a voltage corresponding to a count number of photons received by the avalanche photodiode as the detection signal, and the signal processing part includes a variation calculation part configured to calculate a variation between the pixel cells in the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, and a correction calculation part configured to correct the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, on the basis of the variation calculated by the variation calculation part. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the variation calculation part acquires a reference value for determining the detection signals, corresponding to the count numbers of photons, outputted from all the pixel cells, and calculates the variation with respect to each pixel cell on the basis of a difference between the reference value and the detection signal of each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the reference value is determined by any one of a mode, a median value, or an average value when the detection signals outputted from all the pixel cells are made into a histogram. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the signal processing part further includes a table storage part configured to store the difference between the reference value and the detection signal for each pixel cell, and the correction calculation part adds the difference to the detection signal for each pixel cell to correct the detection signal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein when electric charges are accumulated in a pseudo manner by electrical control on the plurality of pixel cells, the variation calculation part calculates the variation on the basis of the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein when electric charges are accumulated in a pseudo manner by irradiating the plurality of pixel cells with light, the variation calculation part calculates the variation on the basis of the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the variation calculation part calculates the variation a plurality of times at different timings, and the correction calculation part corrects the variation with respect to the detection signal from each of the pixel cells on the basis of the variations calculated the plurality of times. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein when a predetermined update condition is satisfied, the variation calculation part calculates the variation and updates the variation in each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 9 An imaging device comprising: a solid-state imaging element having a plurality of pixel cells arranged in a matrix; and a signal processing part configured to process a detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, wherein the pixel cells each include an avalanche photodiode, during an exposure period of the pixel cells, the pixel cells accumulate charges from the avalanche photodiode to output a voltage corresponding to the accumulated charges as the detection signal, wherein the accumulated charges correspond to a count number of photons received by the avalanche photodiode during the exposure period, and the signal processing part includes a correlation extraction part configured to extract a correlation between the count number and the detection signal for each of the pixel cells, and a count number acquisition part configured to acquire the count number corresponding to the detection signal from each of the pixel cells on the basis of the correlation extracted by the correlation extraction part. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The imaging device according to claim 9, wherein the correlation extraction part sets a correlation table that defines a correlation between the count number and the detection signal, for each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The imaging device according to claim 10, wherein when electric charges corresponding to each count number are accumulated in the pixel cell in a pseudo manner, the correlation extraction part sets the correlation table on the basis of the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The imaging device according to claim 11, wherein the correlation extraction part holds a plurality of types of the correlation tables in advance, and associates the correlation table of a correlation that is closest to a correlation between the count number and the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells, with each of the pixel cells. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The imaging device according to claim 9, wherein when electric charges corresponding to each count number are accumulated in the pixel cell in a pseudo manner, the correlation extraction part sets a correlation function that defines the correlation between the count number and the detection signal, for each of the pixel cells on the basis of the detection signal outputted from each of the pixel cells.