Image sensor having means for changing predetermined voltage
AssigneeNEC Corporation
InventorYoshinori Muramatsu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image sensor comprises conversion cells (41ij) arranged into a matrix for generating conversion voltage in response to incident light, and a processing section for performing a processing of deriving the conversion voltage. The conversion cells comprise a transistor and a photodiode for changing, after predetermined voltage is set with the initial setting of the processing section, the predetermined voltage in response to incident light and outputting it as the conversion voltage, a transistor for amplifying the conversion voltage, a transistor for outputting the amplified conversion voltage to the processing section, and a transistor for applying voltage corresponding to the threshold of the transistor to predetermined voltage set to the photodiode upon the initial setting.
Claims7
An image sensor comprising:
- a plurality of photoelectric conversion cells arranged in a matrix form for generating conversion voltage in response to incident light;
- and
- a processing section for performing a processing of taking out said conversion voltage from each said photoelectric conversion cell, each said photoelectric conversion cell comprising:
- a conversion section for changing, after predetermined voltage is set by initial setting of said processing section, said predetermined voltage in response to the incident light and outputting said predetermined voltage as said conversion voltage;
- an amplification device for amplifying said conversion voltage from said conversion section;
- an output section for outputting said conversion voltage amplified by said amplification device to said processing section;
- and
- setting means for adding voltage corresponding to a threshold of said amplification device to predetermined voltage set to said conversion section upon said initial setting.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.