Floating gate amplifier method of operation for noise minimization in charge coupled devices

Claim 1

In a charge-coupled device having a floating gate electrode, control gate electrodes partially overlapping said floating gate electrode, and first and second sets of phase electrodes, a method of operating the charge-coupled device by transferring charge packets to obtain readout therefrom, said method comprising: simultaneously imparting potentials to the control gate electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the floating gate electrode which are substantially equal voltages below and above a magnitude V T , and at the same time, simultaneously imparting potentials to the first and second phase electrodes which are above and substantially equal to the magnitude V T respectively; transferring charge packets through one transfer sequence by simultaneously changing the potentials of the control gate electrodes to be substantially equal to the magnitude V T , and at the same time, simultaneously reversing the potentials imparted to the first and second phase electrodes such that the potentials are substantially equal to and above the magnitude V T respectively; repeating the sequence of altering potentials imparted to the control gate electrodes and the first and second phase electrodes to successively advance such charge packets along the charge-coupled device; and successively reading the respective charge packets as they are disposed beneath the floating gate electrode.