US 9,883,131 B2Granted

Imaging device including photoelectric converter and charge transfer channel

AssigneePanasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

InventorsSanshiro Shishido, Ryota Sakaida, Yoshiyuki Matsunaga

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Abstract

An imaging device includes a photoelectric converter that generates charge; a first charge transfer channel having a first end electrically connected to the photoelectric converter and a second end, and transferring the charge in a direction from the first end to the second end; a second charge transfer channel diverging from the first charge transfer channel at a first position and transferring a first part of the charge; a third charge transfer channel diverging from the first charge transfer channel at a second position different from the first position in the direction and transferring a part of the second part of the charge; and first and second charge accumulators that accumulate at least a part of the first and second part of the charge respectively. The imaging device does not include a gate that switches between cutoff and transfer of charge, in the first charge transfer channel.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An imaging device comprising:

a photoelectric converter that generates charge;
a first charge transfer channel having a first end electrically connected to the photoelectric converter and a second end, the first charge transfer channel transferring the charge in a direction from the first end to the second end;
a second charge transfer channel diverging from the first charge transfer channel at a first position of the first charge transfer channel, the second charge transfer channel transferring a first part of the charge;
a third charge transfer channel diverging from the first charge transfer channel at a second position of the first charge transfer channel, the second position being different from the first position in the direction, the third charge transfer channel transferring a second part of the charge;
a first charge accumulator that accumulates at least a part of the first part of the charge;
and
a second charge accumulator that accumulates at least a part of the second part of the charge, wherein
the imaging device does not comprise a gate that switches between cutoff and transfer of charge, in the first charge transfer channel.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/190,198Filed 23 Jun 2016
Priority: JP 2015-1336482 Jul 2015
Published: US 2017/0006241 A15 Jan 2017
Granted: 30 Jan 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H04N 25/709
SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith: circuitry for control of the power supply
H04N 25/76
SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith: addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
H04N 25/78
Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors: readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters
Y02E 10/50
Energy generation through renewable energy sources: photovoltaic [PV] energy

Family

US 2017/0006241 A1Pre-grant publication · published 5 Jan 2017
US 9,883,131 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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