Active solid-state imaging device which effectively suppresses fixed-pattern noise

Claim 2

An active solid-state imaging device comprising active photoelectric conversion elements each including a photoelectric conversion section and an amplification section for amplifying a signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section as a signal voltage, the active photoelectric conversion element being connected to a vertical signal line, the vertical signal line being connected to a common signal line via an impedance conversion section and a switch section, so that the signal voltage at the active photoelectric conversion element is transferred to the common signal line via the vertical signal line, the impedance conversion section, and the switch section, wherein the active solid-state imaging device further comprises a reset section for resetting an input of the impedance conversion section at a reference voltage, and the input of the impedance conversion section is reset at the reference voltage by the reset section while the switch section is on and the signal voltage at the active photoelectric conversion section is being transferred to the common signal line, so that the signal voltage and the reference voltage are transferred to the common signal line as a set.

Claim 3

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein a first clamping section for clamping a voltage from the active photoelectric conversion element and a first sample hold section for sampling and holding a voltage from the first clamping section are put between the vertical signal line and the impedance conversion section, and the voltage held by the first sample hold section is input into the impedance conversion section as the signal voltage.

Claim 4

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the reference voltage used by the reset section is a clamping voltage at the first clamping section.

Claim 5

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein there are a readout period when the signal voltage corresponding to the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section is read from the active photoelectric conversion element and a discharge period when the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section is discharged, the first clamping section clamps a signal voltage from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period, and measures a difference between the signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period and a signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element after the discharge period, and the first sample hold section samples and holds the difference measured by the first clamping section and transfers the difference to the impedance conversion section as the signal charge.

Claim 6

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a second clamping section and a second sample hold section connected to the common signal line, and the second clamping section clamps the signal voltage out of the set of the signal voltage and the reference voltage transferred from the common signal line, and measures a difference between the signal voltage and the reference voltage during the period when the reference voltage is being transferred, and the second sample hold section samples and holds the difference measured by the second clamping section and outputs the difference.

Claim 7

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a third and fourth sample hold sections and an operation section for calculating a difference between outputs of the third and fourth sample hold sections, wherein the third sample hold section samples and holds the signal voltage out of the set of the signal voltage and the reference voltage, the fourth sample hold section samples and holds the reference voltage out of the set of the signal voltage and the reference voltage, and the operation section measures a difference between the signal voltage held by the third sample hold section and the reference voltage held by the fourth sample hold section, and outputs the difference.

Claim 8

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the active photoelectric conversion elements are a plurality of active photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a matrix, the signal voltage corresponding to the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section of each of the active photoelectric conversion elements is read during the readout period, and the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section is discharged during the discharge period, the first clamping section clamps the signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period, the first clamping section measures the difference between the signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period and a signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element after the discharge period, and the first sample hold section samples and holds the difference, the difference is transferred to the common signal line via the impedance conversion section and the switch section as the signal voltage, and the reset section resets the input of the impedance conversion section at the reference voltage while the signal voltage is being transferred to the common signal line, so that the signal voltage and the reference voltage are transferred to the common signal line as a set, the above operations are conducted for the active photoelectric conversion elements of one horizontal row, and the above operations conducted for the active photoelectric conversion elements of one horizontal row are repeated for the active photoelectric conversion elements of the remaining horizontal rows.

Claim 9

An active solid-state imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the active photoelectric conversion elements are a plurality of active photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a matrix, the signal voltage corresponding to the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section of each of the active photoelectric conversion elements is read during the readout period, and the signal charge in the photoelectric conversion section is discharged during the discharge period, the first clamping section clamps the signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period, the first clamping section measures the difference between the signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period and a signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element after the discharge period, and the first sample hold section samples and holds the difference, the difference is transferred to the common signal line via the impedance conversion section and the switch section as the signal voltage, and the reset section resets the input of the impedance conversion section at the reference voltage while the signal voltage is being transferred to the common signal line, so that the signal voltage and the reference voltage are transferred to the common signal line as a set, the above operations are conducted for the active photoelectric conversion elements of one horizontal row, as a subsequent operation, an additional discharge period is provided while the signal voltage is kept unchanged without clamping, so as to measure again the difference between the signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element during the readout period and a signal voltage obtained from the active photoelectric conversion element after the additional discharge period, the difference is sampled and held by the first sample hold section, the difference is transferred to the common signal line via the impedance conversion section and the switch section as the signal voltage, and the reset section resets the input of the impedance conversion section at the reference voltage while the signal voltage is being transferred to the common signal line, so that the signal voltage and the reference voltage are transferred to the common signal line as a set, the subsequent operation is conducted for the active photoelectric conversion elements of one horizontal row and this is repeated for a predetermined number of times, and the above operations conducted for the active photoelectric conversion elements of one horizontal row are repeated for the active photoelectric conversion elements of the remaining horizontal rows.