JP2011055201A - Solid-state image pickup element, camera equipped with the same, and driving method of solid-state image pickup element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of a smear level difference while raising a frame rate. <P>SOLUTION: A pixel part is divided into a cutting-out region 301 and an unnecessary region 302 which is other than the former. In the pixel part, one or both of a first wiring 104 and a second wiring 105 are provided to each row. In the unnecessary region 302, gate electrodes 103 provided for each pixel are connected to the first wirings 104 provided for each row in units of rows in common. In the cutting-out region 301, the gate electrodes 103 provided to each pixel are connected to the second wirings 105 provided for each row in units of rows in common. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device used for a digital camera or the like.

  Generally, a digital camera is equipped with an autofocus function. The autofocus function is realized by photographing a subject while moving the position of the lens step by step, and determining a lens position where the contrast of the photographed image reaches a peak. If the subject moves at this time, an appropriate lens position cannot be determined. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the frame rate as much as possible during execution of the autofocus function. Therefore, in the conventional solid-state imaging device, when the signal charge read from each pixel is vertically transferred in units of rows, the signal charges in the row necessary for the autofocus function are transferred at a normal transfer speed, and other unnecessary signals are transferred. The signal charges in the correct rows are transferred at high speed. Thus, the frame rate can be increased by transferring signal charges in unnecessary rows at high speed and discharging them in a short time.

JP-A-1-228280

  However, in the conventional solid-state imaging device, although the frame rate can be increased, since the vertical transfer unit is switched between normal transfer and high-speed transfer, image noise called “smear step” may occur. A smear is a signal that passes through a point where noise charge is generated when light in the vertical transfer unit leaks into the vertical transfer unit when strong light is incident and light enters the gap of the light shielding film. A phenomenon in which noise charge is mixed with charge.

  Normally, smear can be eliminated by vertically transferring only noise charges separately from signal charges, detecting the noise charges with an external signal processing circuit, and subtracting the noise charges from the signal charges. This is because, if the transfer rate of the vertical transfer unit is constant, the passage time of the noise occurrence point is the same for any signal charge, so the amount of noise charge mixed is the same for any signal charge. is there.

  However, when switching between normal transfer and high-speed transfer in order to increase the frame rate, the signal charge that passes through the noise generation location during normal transfer and the signal charge that passes through the noise generation location during high-speed transfer, The passage time of the noise occurrence location will be different, and the amount of noise charge to be mixed will be different. Therefore, when noise charge is detected by an external signal processing circuit and subtracted from the signal charge, high-speed transfer is possible even if the amount to be subtracted from the signal charge that has passed through the location of noise generation during normal transfer is appropriate. An excessive amount is subtracted from the signal charge that has passed through the noise generation location. This is called a “smear step” because when viewed as an image, a portion with a vertical line is bright and the remaining portion is dark. When such a “smear step” occurs, the autofocus function may not work normally.

  In addition to the autofocus function, a similar problem may occur in the moving image shooting function. In digital cameras, the number of pixels is increasing, and even more than 10 million pixels have appeared. Since the resolution is important in still image shooting, the signal charge is read from the pixels included in the entire area of the pixel portion, and the frame rate is important in moving image shooting, so the signal charge is read from the pixels included in the partial area. Has been done. However, in recent years, HD (High Definition) moving images with an emphasis on resolution tend to increase product value, and switching between normal transfer and high-speed transfer has become essential in the vertical transfer unit. Then, when strong light is incident, a “smear step” is generated, and the image quality is degraded.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing the occurrence of a smear step while increasing the frame rate.

  A solid-state imaging device according to the present invention includes a pixel unit in which pixels having photoelectric conversion units are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, and a gate electrode for reading out signal charges from the pixel and transferring the pixels in the vertical direction for each pixel. A solid-state imaging device comprising: a plurality of vertical transfer units; and a horizontal transfer unit that transfers signal charges transferred from the plurality of vertical transfer units in a horizontal direction. It is divided into a cut-out area that includes adjacent rows with a small number of rows and includes adjacent columns with the same number or fewer than the plurality of columns, and other unnecessary regions, and in the pixel portion, for each row, Either or one of the first wiring for supplying power to the gate electrode in the unnecessary region and the second wiring for supplying power to the gate electrode in the cut-out region is provided. In the unnecessary region of the pixel portion, the first wiring is provided for each pixel. A gate electrode is provided for each row. The gate electrode provided for each pixel is connected in common to the second wiring provided for each row in the cut-out region of the pixel portion. It is connected.

  According to the above configuration, the gate electrode in the cut-out region and the gate electrode in the unnecessary region are connected to different wirings, so that when the signal charge is read out from the pixel in the pixel unit to the vertical transfer unit, The signal charge can be read from the pixels in the region, and the signal charge can be prevented from being read from the pixels in the unnecessary region. Thus, since unnecessary signal charges are not read out to the vertical transfer unit, the signal charges of the pixels in the cut-out region are read out to the vertical transfer unit for a certain frame, and are transferred to the outside of the cut-out region by vertical transfer. Immediately after sweeping, the signal charges of the pixels in the cut-out area can be read out to the vertical transfer unit for the next frame. Therefore, the frame rate can be increased. In addition, since unnecessary signal charges are not read out to the vertical transfer unit, it is not necessary to discharge the unnecessary signal charges read out to the vertical transfer unit. Therefore, it is not necessary to switch between normal transfer and high-speed transfer in the vertical transfer unit, and the occurrence of a smear step can be prevented.

Further, both the first wiring and the second wiring may be provided in any row included in the pixel portion. From the viewpoint of supplying the drive pulse, both the first and second wirings need to be provided in the row where the cutout region and the unnecessary region are mixed, but the first row is provided in the other rows. Both the second wiring and the second wiring need not be provided. However, if the said structure is employ | adopted, the following effects can be show | played from another viewpoint.
(A) If both wirings are provided in all rows, it is possible to determine whether to make a cut-out area or an unnecessary area simply by changing the contact position. Therefore, design changes can be facilitated.
(B) As long as both wirings are provided in all rows, the wiring capacitance can be made uniform in any row. Therefore, it is not necessary to consider the difference in the propagation delay of the drive pulse for each row, and the design can be facilitated.
(C) If both wirings are provided in all rows, the flatness of the interlayer insulating film formed on the wiring layer can be improved.

In the pixel portion, the first wirings are electrically connected every predetermined number of rows arranged in the vertical direction, and the second wirings are electrically connected every other number of rows equal to the predetermined number. It may be connected. As a result, vertical transfer can be performed with a predetermined number of types of drive pulses twice as many.
Moreover, the camera provided with the solid-state image sensor of the said structure can show | play the effect similar to the said effect.

  In the solid-state imaging device driving method having the above-described configuration, by supplying a transfer pulse to the first and second wirings, the potential well formed in the vertical transfer unit is transferred in the vertical direction, and is supplied every predetermined period. In addition, by superimposing a read pulse on the transfer pulse supplied to the second wiring, the signal charge of the pixel included in the cut-out region is read to the potential well transferred in the vertical transfer portion. The predetermined period is equal to or longer than a period required for transferring the number of potential wells formed in the vertical transfer portion by one added to the number of potential wells in the cut-out region, It is shorter than the period required to transfer the number of potential wells in the vertical transfer section.

  In this way, by setting the predetermined period to be equal to or longer than the period required to transfer the number of potential wells added to the number of potential wells in the cut-out area, a potential containing only a noise signal due to smearing is obtained. A well can be provided and can be used for subtracting the noise signal. Further, it is possible to prevent the frame rate from being lowered by shortening the period of time required for transfer by the number of potential wells in the vertical transfer unit.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the solid-state image sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention, Fig.2 (a) is a figure which expanded a part of row | line | column shown by (a) of FIG. 1, FIG.2 (b) These are the figures which expanded a part of row | line | column shown by (b) of FIG. 1, FIG.2 (c) is a figure which shows the cross section along the EE 'line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cut-out area | region and unnecessary area | region which concern on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4A shows a driving pulse supplied to the vertical transfer unit in the all-pixel readout mode, and FIG. 4A shows one horizontal period including an operation of reading signal charges from the pixel to the vertical transfer unit. ) Indicates one horizontal period in which such a read operation is not included. FIG. 5A shows a driving pulse supplied to the vertical transfer unit in the cut-out mode, and FIG. 5A shows one horizontal period including an operation of reading the signal charge from the pixel to the vertical transfer unit, and FIG. Indicates one horizontal period in which such a read operation is not included. It is a figure which shows a mode that a signal charge is transferred with progress of time in the vertical transfer part of a prior art. It is a figure which shows a mode that a signal charge is transferred with progress of time in the vertical transfer part of this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the signal output of a prior art, FIG. 8 (a) shows the timing of signal output, FIG.8 (b), (c), (d), (e) is each FIG. It is a figure which shows the transfer condition of the signal charge in the time t1, t2, t3, t4 of (a). It is a figure for demonstrating the signal output of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the camera using the solid-state image sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification regarding a cutting-out area | region in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification regarding wiring in embodiment of this invention.

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration of solid-state image sensor>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the solid-state imaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a part of the row illustrated in FIG. 2 (b) is an enlarged view of a part of the row shown in FIG. 1 (b), and FIG. 2 (c) is a view showing a cross section taken along the line EE ′ of FIG.

The solid-state imaging device includes a photoelectric conversion unit 101, a vertical transfer path 102, a gate electrode 103, a first wiring 104, a second wiring 105, a contact 106, a horizontal transfer unit 107, and an output unit 108.
The photoelectric conversion unit 101 includes photodiodes, and is arranged in a matrix in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. One of the photoelectric conversion units 101 corresponds to one of the pixels, and pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns correspond to the pixel unit.

A plurality of vertical transfer paths 102 are arranged in parallel in the semiconductor substrate. A plurality of gate electrodes 103 are arranged along the vertical transfer path 102 on the semiconductor substrate. The vertical transfer path 102 and the gate electrode 103 correspond to a vertical transfer unit. In this embodiment, one pixel has one electrode configuration in which one gate electrode is provided for one pixel.
The first wiring 104 and the second wiring 105 are electrically insulated, and one is provided in each row. In the present embodiment, the drive pulse is 8-phase drive from V1 to V8. The first wirings 104 are electrically connected every four rows arranged in the vertical direction, and the second wirings 105 are electrically connected every four rows arranged in the vertical direction. The relationship between the driving pulses supplied to the first and second wirings in each row when n is an integer of 1 or more is shown below.

4n-th row first wiring: drive pulse V1
4n row second wiring: drive pulse V2
4n + 1 first line: drive pulse V3
4n + 1 second line: drive pulse V4
4n + 2nd row first wiring: drive pulse V5
4n + 2nd row second wiring: drive pulse V6
4n + 3rd row first wiring: drive pulse V7
4n + 3rd row second wiring: drive pulse V8
The pixel portion is composed of a cutout area 301 and an unnecessary area 302. When reading out all the pixels for still image shooting or the like (hereinafter referred to as “all-pixel reading mode”), signal charges are read out from both the cutout region 301 and the unnecessary region 302, and the autofocus function is being executed. In the case of reading out some pixels for video shooting or moving image shooting (hereinafter referred to as “cutout mode”), signal charges are read out from the pixels in the cutout area 301.

  As described above, both the first wiring 104 and the second wiring are provided in each row. The gate electrode 103 is electrically connected to one of the first wiring 104 and the second wiring 105 through the contact 106, and which is connected to the cutout region 301 and the unnecessary region 302 is different. . Specifically, the gate electrode 103 is in contact with the second wiring 105 in the cutout region 301, and the gate electrode 103 is in contact with the first wiring 104 in the unnecessary region 302. As a result, in the cutout region 301, the vertical transfer unit is driven by the even-numbered drive pulses V2, V4, V6, and V8, and in the unnecessary region 302, the vertical transfer unit is driven by the odd-numbered drive pulses V1, V3, V5, and V7. It is driven by. Therefore, if the odd-numbered drive pulse is only the transfer pulse, and the even-numbered drive pulse is superimposed on the transfer pulse, the signal charge is read to the vertical transfer unit only from the pixels included in the cutout region 301. The read signal charges can be transferred vertically.

The horizontal transfer unit 107 transfers the signal charges transferred from the vertical transfer unit in units of rows in the horizontal direction. The output unit 108 converts the signal charge transferred from the horizontal transfer unit 107 into a voltage signal and outputs the voltage signal to the outside.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cutout area and an unnecessary area according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The cutout region 301 is partitioned so as to include adjacent rows having a smaller number of rows than all the rows included in the pixel portion, and to include adjacent columns having a smaller number of columns than all the columns included in the pixel portion. Yes. The unnecessary area 302 is an area other than the cut-out area 301, and includes areas 302a, 302b, 302c, and 302d. Here, the adjacent row refers to a row continuously arranged in the vertical direction, and the adjacent column refers to a column continuously arranged in the horizontal direction.
<Driving method of solid-state imaging device>
Next, a method for driving the solid-state image sensor will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows drive pulses supplied to the vertical transfer unit in the all-pixel readout mode, and FIG. 4A shows one horizontal period including an operation of reading signal charges from the pixels to the vertical transfer unit. FIG. 4B shows one horizontal period in which such a read operation is not included. In addition, FIG.4 (b) is repeated in multiple times in the period described as V transfer (repetition) of Fig.4 (a).

  The driving pulse can take a ternary voltage of VH (reading voltage: high level), VM (accumulated voltage: middle level), and VL (barrier voltage: low level). The drive pulse can be considered by dividing components into a transfer pulse and a read pulse. At this time, repetition of VM and VL corresponds to a transfer pulse, and VH corresponds to a read pulse. The read pulse is superimposed on the transfer pulse every predetermined period. Here, the readout pulse is superimposed at time T = t (N) and time T = t (N + 1).

  At T = t (N), since the readout pulse is superimposed on both the drive pulses V1 and V2, signal charges are read out from all the pixels in the 4nth row to the vertical transfer unit. The signal charge read to the vertical transfer unit is output to the outside via the horizontal transfer unit during the V transfer (repetition) period. As a result, the pixel signal of the pixel on the 4nth row can be read out in the field. Further, at T = t (N + 1), the readout pulse is superimposed on both the drive pulses V3 and V4. Therefore, the pixel signal of the pixels on the 4n + 1th row can be read out in the field. Thereafter, similarly, the pixel signals of the pixels in the 4n + 2 row and the pixel signals of the pixels in the 4n + 3 row are respectively read out in the field. As a result, the pixel signals of all the pixels are finally output to the outside.

FIG. 5 shows drive pulses supplied to the vertical transfer unit in the cut-out mode, and FIG. 5A shows one horizontal period including an operation of reading signal charges from the pixels to the vertical transfer unit. 5 (b) shows one horizontal period in which such a read operation is not included. In addition, FIG.5 (b) is repeated in multiple times in the period described as V transfer (repetition) of Fig.5 (a).
At T = t (N), the read pulse is superimposed on the drive pulse V2, but the read pulse is not superimposed on the drive pulse V1. Therefore, signal charges are read out to the vertical transfer unit only from the pixels in the 4n-th row among the pixels included in the cut-out area. The signal charge read to the vertical transfer unit is output to the outside via the horizontal transfer unit during the V transfer (repetition) period. Further, at T = t (N + 1), signal charges are read out to the vertical transfer unit from only the pixels in the 4n + 1 row among the pixels included in the cut-out area. Thereafter, similarly, signal charges are respectively read out from the pixels in the 4n + 2 row and the 4n + 3 row among the pixels included in the cutout region to the vertical transfer unit. Accordingly, only the signal charges of the pixels included in the cut-out area can be output to the outside without outputting the signal charges of the pixels included in the unnecessary area to the outside.

In both the all-pixel readout mode and the cut-out mode, the readout pulse is superimposed every predetermined period. However, in the cut-out mode, the interval at which the readout pulse is superimposed is shorter than that in the all-pixel readout mode (for details, see This will be described with reference to FIG.
<Contrast between prior art and this embodiment>
Next, a comparison between the prior art and the present embodiment is performed. First, comparison is made in terms of “smear step” using FIG. 6 (prior art) and FIG. 7 (present embodiment), and then FIG. 8 (prior art) and FIG. 9 (present embodiment) are used. Contrast in terms of frame rate.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating how signal charges are transferred over time in a conventional vertical transfer unit. Each of P1 to P12 represents a potential well. Further, a place where “high brightness” is displayed is a place where noise occurs.
At T = t1, a read pulse is supplied to the vertical transfer unit. In the prior art, a read pulse is supplied to both the cutout area and the unnecessary area even in the cutout mode. Therefore, the signal charges in the cutout region are read out to the potential wells from P3 to P10, and unnecessary signal charges in the unnecessary regions are read out to the potential wells P1, P2, P11, and P12.

From T = t1 to T = t2, unnecessary charges of P1 and P2 are discharged, so that the vertical transfer unit is transferred at high speed. Noise charges due to smear are not mixed in P7 and P8 that pass through the noise generation point during high-speed transfer (strictly speaking, noise charges are mixed, but less than the amount mixed during normal transfer).
Since the signal charges from P3 to P10 are output from T = t3 to T = t6, the vertical transfer unit is normally transferred. During this time, noise charge due to smear is mixed in the potential well that passes through the noise generation point.

From T = t6 to T = t7, the vertical charges are transferred at high speed in order to discharge unnecessary charges P11 and P12. At T = t7, all signal charges read out at T = t1 are output to the outside.
At T = t8, the read pulse is supplied again to the vertical transfer unit. Thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated. In this example, of the signal charges read out to the potential wells from P3 to P10, noise charges are not mixed in the potential wells from P4 to P8, and noise charges are added to the potential wells of P3, P9, and P10. Are mixed. As described above, in the conventional technique, the normal transfer and the high-speed transfer are switched in the vertical transfer unit, so that the signal charge mixed with the noise charge and the signal charge not mixed with the noise charge are mixed, resulting in a “smear step”. End up.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how signal charges are transferred over time in the vertical transfer unit of the present embodiment.
At T = t1, a read pulse is supplied to the vertical transfer unit. In the present embodiment, in the cut-out mode, the read pulse is supplied only to the cut-out area. Therefore, the signal charges in the cutout region are read out to the potential wells from P3 to P10, and unnecessary signal charges in the unnecessary region are not read out.

The vertical transfer unit is normally transferred from T = t1 to T = t5. During this time, noise charge due to smear is mixed in the potential well that passes through the noise generation point.
At T = t6, a read pulse is supplied to the vertical transfer unit. As a result, the signal charge in the cut-out region is read out to each potential well from P3 to P10. At this time, since the noise charges are already contained in the potential wells from P3 to P6, the signal charges and the noise charges are mixed. As described above, in this embodiment, normal transfer and high-speed transfer are not switched in the vertical transfer unit, so that a certain amount of noise charge is mixed in any potential well, and a “smear step” does not occur.

  In this embodiment, the interval between the N field read (T = t1) and the N + 1 field read (T = t6) is equal to the number of potential wells formed in the vertical transfer portion in the cut-out region. This is equivalent to the period required to transfer the number equal to (8) plus one. Therefore, there is a potential well containing only noise charges between P10 (N) and P3 (N + 1). As a result, the external processing circuit can detect the noise charge due to smear, and the process of subtracting the noise charge from the signal charge can be executed. In this example, the number of potential wells containing only noise charges is one, but a plurality of potential wells may be averaged. Thereby, the detection accuracy of noise charge can be improved. However, if the number of potential wells between the fields is excessively increased, the frame rate is lowered accordingly. Therefore, it is desirable that the number is smaller than the number of potential wells in the vertical transfer portion (12 in this example).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the signal output of the prior art. FIG. 8 (a) shows the timing of signal output, and FIGS. 8 (b), (c), (d), (e) FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing signal charge transfer states at times t1, t2, t3, and t4 in FIG. 8A, respectively. In the figure, a potential well from which signal charges are not read is denoted as “empty packet”. On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the signal output of the present embodiment.

In the prior art, a certain amount of time is required to discharge the signal charge read from the unnecessary area, even for high-speed transfer. In the present embodiment, since the signal charge is not read from the unnecessary area, it is not necessary to provide time for discharging the signal charge in the unnecessary area, and as a result, the frame rate can be increased.
<Camera configuration>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera using the solid-state imaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The camera 401 includes an optical system 402, a mechanical shutter 403, a solid-state image sensor 404, a signal processing unit 405, a monitor 406, a memory 407, a user operation unit 408, a control unit 409, and a drive pulse generation unit 410.
Light collected by the optical system 402 is incident on the solid-state image sensor 404 through the mechanical shutter 403. The signal charges generated thereby are sent to the signal processing unit 405 and subjected to various signal processing. One of them is a calculation process for subtracting the noise charge due to smear from the signal charge. The monitor 406 displays a video based on the video signal received from the signal processing unit 405. The memory 407 stores the video signal received from the signal processing unit 405. The user operation unit 408 is, for example, a shutter button. The control unit 409 outputs an instruction according to the operation of the user operation unit 408 to the drive pulse generation unit 410. For example, if the shutter button is half-pressed, an instruction to execute the autofocus function is output to the drive pulse generator 410. The drive pulse generation unit 410 generates necessary drive pulses each time, such as a moving image mode, a still image mode, and an autofocus function.

With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a smear step while increasing the frame rate.
In addition, this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, For example, the following modifications can be considered.
(1) In the embodiment, the cut-out area is located at substantially the center of the pixel portion, but the cut-out area is not limited to this as long as it is an area necessary for an autofocus function or moving image shooting. Moreover, it is good also as providing cut-out area | region not only in one place but in multiple places. For example, it is good also as partitioning like FIG.
(2) In the embodiment, the first wiring and the second wiring are provided in all rows, but the present invention is not limited to this. From the viewpoint of supplying the drive pulse, only one of the first wiring and the second wiring may be provided for a row in which only the unnecessary region 302 exists or a row in which only the cutout region 301 exists (see, for example, FIG. 12). ). However, if both the first wiring and the second wiring are provided in all rows, the following effects can be obtained from another viewpoint.
(A) If both wirings are provided in all rows, it is possible to determine whether to make a cut-out area or an unnecessary area simply by changing the contact position. Therefore, design changes can be facilitated.
(B) As long as both wirings are provided in all rows, the wiring capacitance can be made uniform in any row. Therefore, it is not necessary to consider the difference in the propagation delay of the drive pulse for each row, and the design can be facilitated.
(C) If both wirings are provided in all rows, the flatness of the interlayer insulating film formed on the wiring layer can be improved.

Therefore, it is preferable to provide both the first wiring and the second wiring in all rows.
(3) In the embodiment, the 1-pixel 1-electrode type is applicable, but the 1-pixel 2-electrode type is also applicable.
(4) Although the embodiment describes the eight-phase drive, the present invention is not limited to this. There should be at least four phases.
(5) In the embodiment, the pixel signal of one frame is read out in a plurality of fields, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the pixel signal of one frame may be read out once.

  The present invention can be used for a digital camera or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Photoelectric conversion part 102 Vertical transfer path 103 Gate electrode 104 1st wiring 105 2nd wiring 106 Contact 107 Horizontal transfer part 108 Output part 301 Cutout area 302 Unnecessary area 401 Camera 402 Optical system 403 Mechanical shutter 404 Solid-state image sensor 405 Signal processing Unit 406 Monitor 407 Memory 408 User operation unit 409 Control unit 410 Drive pulse generation unit

Claims (5)

A plurality of vertical transfer units each including a pixel unit in which pixels having photoelectric conversion units are arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and a gate electrode for reading out signal charges from the pixels and transferring them in the vertical direction for each pixel; A solid-state imaging device comprising a horizontal transfer unit that horizontally transfers signal charges transferred from a plurality of vertical transfer units,
The pixel portion is partitioned into a cutout region including adjacent rows having a smaller number of rows than the plurality of rows and including adjacent columns having the same number as the plurality of columns or less than the number of columns, and other unnecessary regions. ,
In the pixel portion, for each row, both or one of a first wiring for supplying power to the gate electrode in the unnecessary region and a second wiring for supplying power to the gate electrode in the cut-out region are provided.
In the unnecessary region of the pixel portion, the gate electrode provided for each pixel is connected in common to the first wiring provided for each row in units of rows,
In the cut-out region of the pixel portion, a solid-state imaging device, wherein a gate electrode provided for each pixel is connected in common to a second wiring provided for each row in units of rows.   2. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein both the first wiring and the second wiring are provided in any row included in the pixel portion.   In the pixel portion, the first wirings are electrically connected every predetermined number of rows arranged in the vertical direction, and the second wirings are electrically connected every other number of rows equal to the predetermined number. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the solid-state imaging device is provided.   A camera comprising the solid-state imaging device according to claim 1. A method for driving a solid-state imaging device according to claim 1,
By supplying a transfer pulse to the first and second wirings, the potential well formed in the vertical transfer unit is transferred in the vertical direction,
A potential well in which signal charges of pixels included in the cutout region are transferred in the vertical transfer unit by superimposing a read pulse on a transfer pulse supplied to the second wiring every predetermined period. To read
The predetermined period is equal to or longer than the period required for transferring the number of potential wells formed in the vertical transfer unit by the number of potential wells in the cut-out region by one. A method for driving a solid-state imaging device, characterized in that it is shorter than a period required to transfer the number of potential wells in the transfer unit.

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