US 6,674,094 B2Granted

CMOS image sensor

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

InventorHirokazu Sekine

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Abstract

A CMOS image sensor is provided with a first pixel group 12 and a second pixel group 13. The first pixel group 12 composed of a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix at specified pitches PH and PV in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. The second pixel group 13 composed of a plurality of pixels arranged similarly in a matrix shifted by about one-half of the pitches PH and PV in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively from the matrix of the first pixel group. Each of these pixels is composed of a combination of a photodiode PD, a reset transistor RS, a driver transistor D and an address transistor AD. The reset transistors RS belonging to the first and second pixel groups 12, 13 and arranged in a corresponding row of the matrix are connected to a common reset line RSL. Similarly, the address transistors AD belonging to the first and second pixel groups 12, 13 and arranged in a corresponding row of the matrix are connected to a common address line ADL. Further, drain electrodes of two reset transistors RS contained in adjacent four pixels and drain electrodes of two address transistors are connected to a common reset drain voltage line terminal RD.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A CMOS image sensor comprising:

a first pixel group, in which a plurality of pixels composed of a combination of photoelectric conversion elements, reset transistors, driver transistors and address transistors are arranged in a matrix at a prescribed pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively;
a second pixel group, in which a plurality of pixels similarly composed of a combination of photoelectric conversion elements, reset transistors, driver transistors and address transistors are arranged in a matrix at a prescribed pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, and are dislocated by about one-half of the prescribed pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions from the first pixel group;
reset lines commonly connected to the reset transistors belonging to the first and second pixel groups and arranged in the corresponding horizontal rows in the matrix;
address lines commonly connected to the address transistors belonging to the first and second pixel groups and arranged in the corresponding horizontal rows in the matrix arrangement;
a plurality of first signal output lines commonly connected to the driver transistors belonging to the first pixel group and arranged in the corresponding vertical columns in the matrix;
and
a plurality of second signal output lines commonly connected to the driver transistors belonging to the second pixel group and arranged in the corresponding vertical column in the matrix arrangement.

4 more elements

A CMOS image sensor formed in an integrated circuit comprising:

a first pixel group, in which a plurality of pixels composed of a combination of photoelectric conversion elements, reset transistors, driver transistors and address transistors are arranged in a matrix at a prescribed pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively;
a second pixel group, in which a plurality of pixels similarly composed of a combination of photoelectric conversion elements, reset transistors, driver transistors and address transistors are arranged in a matrix at a prescribed pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, and are dislocated by about one-half of the prescribed pitch in the horizontal and vertical directions from the first pixel group;
wherein
the photoelectric conversion elements of the first pixel group arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction and the photoelectric conversion elements of the second pixel group arranged adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are arranged at four corners of an square and the reset drain terminals are arranged at nearly the center of the square, the driver transistors and the address transistors are arranged at two sides of the square, respectively, and the reset transistors and the floating junctions that are the connecting portions between the reset transistors and the driver transistors are arranged at the remaining two sides of the square.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.