Area sensor, image input apparatus having the same, and method of driving the area sensor
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsToshio Kameshima, Noriyuki Kaifu
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Abstract
In order to eliminate impairment due to a disconnection and to make driving at high speed possible, a semiconductor device is provided which includes a plurality of pixels, each having a switching element, arrayed two-dimensionally, which includes a plurality of common lines connected to the switching elements arrayed in a direction, and which drives the switching elements. A plurality of driving devices for applying a control signal are connected to the common lines.
Claims37
An area sensor comprising:
- plural pixels, each having a switching element, arranged two-dimensionally;
- and
- plural common lines which are connected to said switching elements corresponding to said pixels which are arrayed in a direction, a control signal being applied to said common line in order to drive said switching element,
- wherein plural driving means for applying said control signal are connected to said common lines.
An area sensor comprising:
- plural pixels, each having a thin-film transistor and a photoelectric conversion element, arranged two-dimensionally;
- and
- plural common source lines which are connected to the source electrodes of said thin-film transistors which are arrayed in a direction,
- wherein plural signal reading means are connected to said common source lines.
An area sensor comprising:
- plural pixels, each having a thin-film transistor and a photoelectric conversion element, arranged two-dimensionally;
- plural common gate lines which are connected to the gate electrodes of said thin-film transistors which are arrayed in one direction;
- and
- plural common lines which are connected to the source or drain electrodes of said thin-film transistors which are arrayed in another direction,
- wherein plural signal reading means are connected to said common lines, and plural gate driving means are connected to said common gate lines.
A method of driving an area sensor having plural pixels, each having a switching element, arranged two-dimensionally, and having a pixel sequence in which the switching elements are connected to a common line, said method comprising the steps of:
- applying a control signal for driving said switching elements at the same time from at least two different points of said common line;
- and
- driving the switching elements which are connected to said common line in accordance with the control signal applied to said common line.
An image input apparatus comprising:
- an area sensor having plural pixels arranged therein two-dimensionally, each pixel having a thin-film transistor and a photoelectric conversion element, having plural common gate lines which are connected to the gate electrodes of said thin-film transistors arrayed in one direction and plural common lines which are connected to the source or drain electrodes of said thin-film transistors arrayed in another direction, having plural signal reading means connected to said common lines, having plural gate driving means connected to said common lines, and having a wavelength conversion member in the photoelectric conversion element;
- an electromagnetic-wave generation source;
- image processing means for processing an image signal from the area sensor;
- and
- display means for displaying an image on which image processing is performed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.