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WO-2026094419-A1 - IMAGING DEVICE

WO2026094419A1WO 2026094419 A1WO2026094419 A1WO 2026094419A1WO-2026094419-A1

Abstract

The present invention enables an amount of charge accumulated in a photoelectric conversion unit to be detected without performing destructive readout.　This imaging device comprises: a photoelectric conversion unit that is provided in a pixel; a transfer transistor that transfers charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit to a floating diffusion; an amplification transistor that outputs a pixel signal corresponding to the charges accumulated in the floating diffusion; a first selection transistor that selects the output from the amplification transistor; a threshold modulation transistor having a threshold that is modulated on the basis of the charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit; and a second selection transistor that selects the output from the threshold modulation transistor.

Inventors

  • IIDA, SATOKO
  • SAKANO, YORITO
  • HATTORI, YUKI

Assignees

  • ソニーセミコンダクタソリューションズ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250903
Priority Date
20241029

Claims (20)

  1. A photoelectric conversion unit provided in the pixel, A transfer transistor that transfers the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit to the floating diffusion, An amplifying transistor that outputs a pixel signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in the floating diffusion, A first selection transistor that selects the output from the aforementioned amplification transistor, A threshold modulation transistor whose threshold is modulated based on the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit, An imaging device comprising a second selection transistor for selecting the output from the threshold modulation transistor.
  2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising signal lines for transmitting the output from the amplification transistor and the output from the threshold modulation transistor.
  3. The photoelectric conversion unit, the transfer transistor, the threshold modulation transistor, and the second selection transistor are provided for each pixel. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amplification transistor and the first selection transistor are shared by a plurality of pixels.
  4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first determination unit that instructs the reading of a pixel signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in the floating diffusion based on the determination result of the output level of the threshold modulation transistor.
  5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reading of the output level of the threshold modulation transistor is performed by non-destructive reading.
  6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reading of the output level of the threshold modulation transistor is performed multiple times during the charge accumulation period.
  7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first determination unit instructs the reading of a pixel signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in the floating diffusion when the output level of the threshold modulation transistor is at a threshold level below the saturation level.
  8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the threshold level is set to a potential lower than or equal to the depletion voltage of the photoelectric conversion unit.
  9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a switching transistor that switches the conversion efficiency of the pixel, which is set to read out a pixel signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in the floating diffusion.
  10. A comparator for determining the output level of the threshold modulation transistor and the output level of the amplification transistor, The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a counter that performs a counting operation based on the determination result of the output level of the threshold modulation transistor or the output level of the amplification transistor.
  11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first determination unit sets the comparator and the counter to non-operation when the output level of the threshold modulation transistor is less than the threshold level.
  12. A storage unit that stores the pixel signal read out based on the determination result of the output level of the threshold modulation transistor, The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adder that adds up the pixel signals stored in the memory unit for each pixel.
  13. A pixel array section in which the pixels are arranged in a matrix in the row direction and column direction, A vertical scanning circuit that scans the aforementioned pixels in the direction of the column, A vertical signal line that transmits the output level of the threshold modulation transistor and the output level of the amplification transistor in the column direction, The pixel comprises a horizontal control line that drives the pixel in the row direction, The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vertical scanning circuit drives the transfer transistor, the first selection transistor and the second selection transistor via the horizontal control line.
  14. The aforementioned transfer transistor is A first transfer transistor that transfers the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit row by row, The imaging apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a second transfer transistor for transferring the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit to each column.
  15. The imaging apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a second determination unit that instructs the vertical scanning circuit to read out a pixel signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in the floating diffusion based on the determination result of the difference in the output levels of the threshold modulation transistor.
  16. The imaging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the difference in the output levels of the threshold modulation transistor is the difference between frames.
  17. The imaging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the difference in the output levels of the threshold modulation transistor is the difference between adjacent pixels.
  18. The imaging apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the second determination unit instructs the vertical scanning circuit to read out a pixel having the difference in output level and a pixel adjacent to the pixel.
  19. The imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the second determination unit sets the processing of the pixel signals transmitted via the vertical signal line to non-operation for columns other than the column to which the pixel having the difference in output level and the pixel adjacent to the pixel belong.
  20. A photoelectric conversion unit provided in the pixel, A sense unit provided in the pixel outputs a sense signal that follows the PD potential corresponding to the charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit, An imaging apparatus comprising: an output unit that outputs a pixel signal that tracks the FD potential of a floating diffusion corresponding to the charge transferred from the photoelectric conversion unit, based on the PD potential detected by the sense unit.

Description

Imaging device This technology relates to an imaging device. More specifically, this technology relates to an imaging device capable of reading signals from pixels based on the detection result of the amount of charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit. In imaging devices, there are techniques to achieve HDR (High Dynamic Range) regardless of the storage capacitance that stores charge in the photoelectric conversion unit. For example, a technique has been disclosed in which a pixel is equipped with a counting unit that counts and outputs a first signal when a first node matches a predetermined potential, and a readout circuit that reads the potential of the first node (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an imaging device according to the first embodiment.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of a pixel circuit configuration provided in a solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the AD conversion unit according to the first embodiment.A flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the imaging device according to the first embodiment is provided.This is a timing chart showing an example of operation when a saturation state is detected in the imaging device according to the first embodiment.This figure shows the relationship between exposure time and signal level for each illuminance level of the imaging device according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of a waveform during operation of a low-light pixel according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of a waveform during the operation of a medium-illuminance pixel according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of a waveform during operation of a high-illumination pixel according to the first embodiment.This is a plan view showing an example of a pixel layout according to the first embodiment.This is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the pixel sense unit according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of the potential of the pixel sensing part according to the first embodiment.This is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the pixel transfer unit according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of the potential of the pixel transfer section according to the first embodiment.This figure shows the relationship between the light intensity of a pixel and the PD potential and FD potential according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of the PD potential for each pixel according to the first embodiment.This figure shows an example of the circuit configuration of a dummy pixel provided in a solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to the second embodiment.This figure shows an example of a pixel circuit configuration provided in a solid-state imaging device according to the second embodiment.A flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the imaging device according to the second embodiment is provided.This is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the imaging device according to the second embodiment when an event is detected.This figure shows an example of the PD potential for each pixel in adjacent rows according to the second embodiment.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to the third embodiment.A flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the imaging device according to the third embodiment is provided.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to the fourth embodiment.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the AD conversion unit according to the fourth embodiment.A flowchart illustrating an example of operation of the imaging device according to the fourth embodiment is provided.This is a timing chart showing an example of operation when detecting a lateral edge of the imaging device according to the fourth embodiment.This is a timing chart showing an example of operation when detecting a vertical edge of the imaging device according to the fourth embodiment.This figure shows an example of the PD potential for each pixel in adjacent frames according to the fourth embodiment.This figure shows an example of pixel connection in a solid-state imaging device according to the fourth embodiment.This figure shows an example of two-pixel sharing in a solid-state imaging device according to the fourth embodiment.This figure shows an example of four-pixel sharing in a solid-state imaging device according to the fourth embodiment.This is a block diagram show