Solid-state imaging device with internal smear eliminator

A semiconductor imaging device comprising:

• a semiconductive substrate;
• a well region in said substrate;
• an array of rows and columns of photoelectric cells in said well region, each of said cells having a first impurity-doped semiconductor layer which is different in conductivity type from said well region;
• a plurality of first charge-transfer sections extending along the rows of cells on said substrate and having outputs;
• a second charge transfer section coupled to the outputs of the first transfer sections and extending transverse to said first transfer sections;
• light-shield means overlying said first charge-transfer sections, for cutting off an internal reflection path between each cell and a corresponding one of said first charge-transfer sections, and for preventing an incident light from being introduced into said transfer channel region through the reflection path as a leak component thereto;
• a second impurity-doped semiconductor layer having the same conductivity as said well region and overlapping said first impurity-doped semiconductor layer in said well region, said second impurity-doped semiconductor layer being set at a reference ground potential;
• and
• said light-shield means comprising a conductive layer having an end portion being in contact with said second impurity-doped semiconductor layer at a surface of said substrate, thereby causing said conductive layer to be potentially equivalent to or greater than said second impurity-doped semiconductor layer.