Solid-state image pickup device

Abstract

Abstract PURPOSE:To detect a reference level signal corresponding to the black level of a video signal, by providing a light-shielded photoelectric converting element group in addition to a photoelectric converting element group for image detection. CONSTITUTION:On a semiconductor substrate 10, numbers of picture elements 12 each consisting of a photodiode D and an MOS type vertical switching transistor Q are arrayed in two dimensions, and every four picture elements 12 at a position corresponding to the starting end part of every horizontal scanning line are covered with a light shielding layer 14. Picture elements 12 scanned by vertical and horizontal scanning circuits 16 and 18 have transistors Q turned on and photodiodes D discharged according to the quantity of irradiation light are charged by a power source V0 to lead the terminal voltage across a resistance R0 out through a capacitor C0 as a video signal. Signals from picture elements 12 under a light shielding layer 14 are obtained as the terminal voltage across the resistance R0 corresponding to the amount of charge for supplementing the discharged charge by the dark current of the diode D, and is used as a reference level signal.

Inventors

• 👤 Toshio Maejima
• 👤 利夫 前島

Bibliographic Details