JP2008109501A - Imaging device and correcting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correct noise of an image signal without adding any special device constitution while keeping a release time lag short. <P>SOLUTION: This invention relates to a correcting method for a signal obtained from an imaging element having a plurality of pixels and including a photoelectric converter which receives and converts light from a subject image into a signal, a semiconductor area to which the signal from the photoelectric converter is transferred, a transfer means for transferring the signal of the photoelectric converter to the semiconductor area, and a readout means for reading a signal out of the semiconductor area, and the correcting method has a second readout stage of reading a first signal out of the photoelectric converter and reading the second signal accumulated in the semiconductor area during the storage of the signal in the photoelectric converter, and a correcting stage (S41, S42, and S43) of correcting the first signal based upon the second signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device and a correction method, and more particularly to a technique for correcting noise generated in an imaging device in an imaging device using the imaging device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, imaging devices such as digital cameras and video cameras using imaging elements such as CCDs and CMOS image sensors have become widespread. Particularly in recent years, with the improvement in performance of digital cameras, the number of pixels in image sensors has been increasing.

  In such an image sensor, dark current generated due to factors such as temperature is known, but this dark current varies depending on the use environment, exposure time, and the like. Therefore, immediately before or after the actual shooting operation, a shooting operation is performed in a state where the image sensor is shielded, and a captured image (dark image or black image) obtained at that time is subtracted from the image obtained by shooting the subject. Is known (see, for example, “Prior Art” of Patent Document 1). In this way, by subtracting the dark image from the subject image, the influence of the dark current component due to the fixed pattern noise, minute scratches, and the like is reduced, and the image quality is improved.

  Furthermore, a method of applying a gain so that the fixed pattern noise extracted and stored from the dark image at the time of manufacturing the solid-state imaging device corresponds to the temperature change detected by the temperature sensor in the imaging device is also disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). In this method, the effect of fixed pattern noise due to temperature dependence is removed by performing addition and subtraction of fixed pattern noise to which a gain corresponding to a temperature change is applied to an image obtained by photographing a subject.

JP 2003-333435 A JP 2003-18475 A

  In the correction processing by dark image subtraction described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the influence of two-dimensional dark current unevenness, fixed pattern noise, and the like in the screen. However, a dark image (black image) is shot by performing the shooting operation with the same accumulation time as the actual shooting operation and with the image sensor shielded from light. For this reason, there is a problem that the shutter release time lag at the time of shooting becomes long, and the shooting interval between the first frame and the second frame becomes longer by the dark image shooting time during continuous shooting. In particular, when shooting at long seconds, there was a problem such as missing a photo opportunity.

  The method described in Patent Document 2 tries to remove the influence due to the temperature change in the image pickup apparatus, but does not detect the temperature of the image pickup device itself, and depending on the image pickup device, the temperature distribution in the screen may be different. Since it is not uniform, it cannot be corrected with high accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and corrects dark output unevenness in the screen such as dark current unevenness in an image signal without adding a special device configuration and keeping the release time lag short. The purpose is to be able to.

  In order to achieve the above object, an imaging apparatus according to the present invention includes a photoelectric conversion unit that receives light from a subject image and converts the light into a signal, a semiconductor region to which a signal from the photoelectric conversion unit is transferred, and the photoelectric conversion unit. An imaging device having a plurality of pixels each having a transfer means for transferring a signal of the conversion section to the semiconductor region and a reading means for reading the signal of the semiconductor area; and a first signal read from the photoelectric conversion section On the other hand, it has correction means for performing correction based on the second signal obtained by reading the signal accumulated in the semiconductor region during signal accumulation in the photoelectric conversion unit.

  In addition, a photoelectric conversion unit that receives light from the subject image and converts it into a signal, a semiconductor region to which a signal from the photoelectric conversion unit is transferred, and a transfer unit that transfers a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit to the semiconductor region And a correction method according to the present invention for a signal obtained from an imaging device having a plurality of pixels having a readout means for reading out the signal of the semiconductor region, the first readout step of reading out the first signal from the photoelectric conversion unit, A second reading step of reading the second signal accumulated in the semiconductor region during signal accumulation of the photoelectric conversion unit, and correction based on the second signal for the first signal And a correction step.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to correct dark output unevenness in a screen such as dark current unevenness in an image signal without adding a special device configuration and keeping the release time lag short.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital still camera as an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 51 is a lens that forms an optical image of a subject on the image sensor 55, and 52 is a diaphragm for adjusting the amount of light that has passed through the lens 51, and is controlled by a diaphragm controller 63. Reference numeral 54 denotes an optical filter that limits the wavelength or spatial frequency of light incident on the image sensor 55, and 55 is an image sensor that converts an optical image of a subject formed through the lens 51 into an electrical image signal. An analog front end 56 performs analog processing and analog-digital conversion of the image signal output from the image sensor 55. The analog front end 56 includes a double correlation sampling (CDS) circuit 57 for removing noise, an amplifier 58 for adjusting a signal gain, and an A / D converter 59 for digitizing an analog signal. A digital signal processing unit 60 performs various corrections on the digital image data output from the analog front end 56 and compresses the image data.

  A timing generator 65 outputs various timing signals to the image sensor 55, the analog front end 56, and the digital signal processor 60. A system control CPU 61 controls various operations and the entire digital still camera. Reference numeral 62 denotes an image memory for temporarily storing image data, 66 denotes a display interface unit for displaying captured images, and 67 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display. 68 is a recording interface unit for recording or reading on a recording medium, 69 is a removable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory for recording image data or additional data, and 70 is for communicating with an external computer 71 or the like. An external interface unit.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram mainly showing a circuit for one pixel of the image sensor 55, and shows the configuration of a CMOS sensor.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a photodiode (PD), which is connected to a floating diffusion portion (FD) 3 via a transfer switch 2. The FD 3 is connected to a power supply line 5 that supplies a reset voltage via a reset switch 4. FD3 is the gate of a field effect transistor (FET) 6. The drain of the FET 6 is connected to a predetermined voltage, and the source is connected to the vertical output line 8 via the selection switch 7. The pixel 9 is configured by the elements so far. A plurality of pixels having the same configuration are configured along the vertical output line 8 to form a column 10, and an area sensor is configured by configuring a plurality of columns having the same configuration in the horizontal direction.

  Each vertical output line 8 is connected to at least one constant current source 11, and the voltage of the vertical output line 8 is determined by the charge of the FD 3 of the selected pixel. Further, a capacitor 12 as a memory for temporarily storing the pixel output is connected to the vertical output line 8 via a switch 13, and a capacitor 14 as a memory for temporarily storing the saturation output is a switch 15. Connected through. The capacitors 12 and 14 are connected to the readout line 16 via the switches 13 and 15, respectively, and the pixel output stored in the capacitors 12 and 14 is read out from the readout line 16 via the output amplifier 17.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of PD1 and FD3 of the pixel 9 shown in FIG. In addition, the same reference number is attached | subjected to the structure corresponding to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, 11 is a diffusion region of PD1, 12 is a gate electrode of transfer switch 2, 3 is a floating diffusion portion (semiconductor diffusion region), 19 is an opening of a light shielding film on PD1, and 18 is a light shielding film on FD1. is there. Reference numeral 8 is a vertical signal line, and 5 is a power supply line.

  FIG. 4 shows the timing of various pulses output from the timing generator 65. The operation will be described below with reference to FIG.

  When a certain pixel is selected, the selection pulse φSEL of the pixel to be selected becomes “High (H)”, and the selection switch 7 is turned on. At this time, since the FD 3 is formed of a diffusion region in the same manner as the PD 1 that is a normal photoelectric conversion element, pairs of electrons and holes, which are optical signal charges, are generated by incident stray light and heat. Accordingly, the FD 3 functions equivalently as a photoelectric conversion element. In this way, signal charges are generated in the FD 3 due to heat and minute light emission generated by elements and circuits in the imaging apparatus, and charges (noise components) resulting from these are accumulated.

  In this way, the charge (noise component) accumulated in the FD 3 before the charge of the PD 1 is transferred via the transfer switch 2 is converted into a charge voltage by the FET 6, and a voltage corresponding to the charge is output to the vertical output line 8. Is done. In this state, by setting the memory pulse φM2 to “H” and connecting the switch 15 to the vertical output line 8, the voltage corresponding to the read charge of the noise component is temporarily stored in the capacitor.

  Thereafter, the reset pulse φRES is set to “H”, the reset switch 4 is turned on, and the FD 3 is reset to a predetermined reset voltage. Next, the transfer pulse φTX is set to “H”, the transfer switch 2 is turned on, and the charge (light component) accumulated in the PD 1 is read out to the FD 3. The charge of the light component read out to the FD 3 is subjected to charge voltage conversion by the FET 6, and the corresponding voltage is output to the vertical output line 8. In this state, the memory pulse φM1 is set to “H” and the switch 13 is connected to the vertical output line 8, whereby the voltage corresponding to the charge of the light component is temporarily stored in the capacitor 12.

  Next, the read pulse φR 1 is set to “H”, the switch 13 is connected to the read line 16, a voltage corresponding to the temporarily stored charge of the light component is output to the read line 16, and as an optical signal via the output amplifier 17. Output. After that, the read pulse φR2 is set to “H”, the switch 15 is connected to the read line 16, a voltage corresponding to the charge of the noise component is output to the read line 16, and is output as a noise signal via the output amplifier 17.

  The optical signal and noise signal output from the image sensor 55 in this way are converted into digital data by the A / D converter 59, and the optical signal is converted into a digital output image, and the noise signal is converted into a noise image indicating the noise level and area. It is sent to the digital signal processing unit 60 of FIG.

  Next, dark output correction processing executed in the digital signal processing unit 60 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Since the pixel defects occurring for each pixel are different between FD3 and PD1, in step S11, a median process is performed on the noise image in a pixel range of 5 pixels × 5 pixels, the noise for each pixel is canceled, and a screen for dark output of the noise image Extract only the inner unevenness. In step S12, gain correction is performed to correct the difference in sensitivity between PD1 and FD3 and the difference in dark current generation intensity. Since the FD3 is more sensitive to the generation of dark current than the PD1, the level of the noise image is lowered. In step S13, the corrected noise image is subtracted from the light output image to complete dark output correction. In step S13, the corrected noise image is subtracted from the light output image to complete dark output correction.

  According to the above processing, since it is not necessary to acquire a dark image, it is possible to make the two accumulation times conventionally required to acquire the main image and the dark image into one accumulation time.

  Next, an operation at the time of shooting in the digital still camera that performs the above-described correction processing will be described.

  When a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the main power supply is turned on, the control power supply is turned on, and the imaging system circuits such as the analog front end 56 are turned on.

  Thereafter, in order to control the exposure amount, the system control CPU 61 opens the aperture 52 via the aperture controller 63. In this state, the image signal output from the image sensor 55 is converted by the analog front end 56 and then input to the digital signal processing unit 60. Based on the data, the system control CPU 61 calculates the exposure. The brightness is determined based on the result of the photometry, and the system control CPU 61 controls the diaphragm 52 according to the result.

  Next, a high frequency component is extracted from the image signal output from the image sensor 55 and the sharpness is calculated by the system control CPU 61. Thereafter, the lens 51 is driven to calculate the sharpness again to determine whether or not the lens is in focus (whether or not the sharpness is maximum). When it is determined that the lens is not in focus, the lens 51 is driven. Then, the sharpness is calculated again. This control is repeated until the sharpness is maximized. After the sharpness is maximized (focus is confirmed), the electronic shutter function of the image sensor 55 is used to start the main exposure as described above. Then, the exposure is finished. Thereafter, a light output image and a noise image are sequentially output for each row. The image signal output from the image sensor 55 is digitized after being subjected to noise removal such as double correlation sampling, amplification, and A / D conversion by the analog front end 56.

  The digitized image signal passes through the digital signal processing unit 60, performs the above processing, and then is written in the image memory 62 by the system control CPU 61. Thereafter, the image data stored in the image memory 62 is recorded on a removable recording medium 69 such as a semiconductor memory through the recording interface unit 68 under the control of the system control CPU 61. Further, the photographed image data is displayed on the display unit 67 such as a liquid crystal display through the display interface unit 66. Alternatively, the image may be processed by directly entering the computer 71 or the like through the external interface unit 70.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  When the dark current generated in the FD3 is larger than that in the PD1 as occurs in the defective pixel, the saturation of the FD3 due to the charge of the noise component at the time of shooting for a long time becomes a problem. In the second embodiment, a method for solving this problem will be described.

  The basic apparatus configuration is the same as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a noise signal correction process in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the noise component charges are read from the FD 3 a plurality of times at predetermined time intervals and added together during the charge accumulation period.

  First, after resetting the entire screen of the image sensor 55, it is determined whether or not it is time to read out a noise image in step S21 (whether a predetermined time has elapsed). Read the image.

  FIG. 7 shows the drive timing of the image sensor 55 performed in step S22 at this time.

  When a certain pixel is selected, the selection pulse φSEL of the pixel to be selected becomes “High (H)”, and the selection switch 7 is turned on. As described above, the FD 3 is formed of a diffusion region in the same manner as the PD 1 that is a normal photoelectric conversion element. Therefore, pairs of electrons and holes, which are optical signal charges, are generated by incident stray light and heat. Accordingly, the FD 3 functions equivalently as a photoelectric conversion element. In this way, signal charges are generated in the FD 3 due to heat and minute light emission generated by elements and circuits in the imaging apparatus, and charges (noise components) resulting from these are accumulated.

  In this way, the charge (noise component) accumulated in the FD 3 before the charge of the PD 1 is transferred via the transfer switch 2 is converted into a charge voltage by the FET 6, and a voltage corresponding to the charge is output to the vertical output line 8. Is done. In this state, the memory pulse φM2 is set to “H” and the switch 15 is connected to the vertical output line 8, whereby the voltage corresponding to the read noise component charge is temporarily stored in the capacitor.

  Thereafter, the reset pulse φRES is set to “H”, the reset switch 4 is turned on, and the FD 3 is reset to a predetermined reset voltage. Next, the read pulse φR 2 is set to “H”, the switch 15 is connected to the read line 16, a voltage corresponding to the charge of the noise component is output to the read line 16, and is output as a noise signal via the output amplifier 17.

  The noise signal output from the image pickup device 55 in this way is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 59, and is sent to the digital signal processing unit 60 of FIG. 1 as a noise image indicating the noise level and area.

  When the noise image is output as described above in step S22, if the noise image is read for the first time in step S23, there is no noise image to be added, so that it is stored in the digital signal processing unit 60 as it is. . In step S24, it is confirmed whether the set accumulation time has expired. If the accumulation time has not been reached, after returning to step S21 and waiting for a predetermined time (YES in step S21), a noise image is read in step S22 as described above with reference to FIG. The noise image read in the second and subsequent loops is added to the noise image stored in the digital signal processing unit 60 in step S23. After the addition, the process proceeds to step S24. If the accumulation time has been reached, the process proceeds to step S25. If not, the process returns to step S21 to repeat the above processing.

  In step S25, the charge is read after the accumulation is completed, but this process is the same as that described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. However, in the second embodiment, since the noise image is read out in steps S22 and S23 every predetermined time, the charge accumulation time of the light output image read in step S25 is different from the charge accumulation time of the noise image. Yes.

  Therefore, in step S25 in the second embodiment, the digital signal processing unit 60 adds the read noise image to the stored noise image to obtain a final noise image. Based on the light output image and the noise image thus obtained, the digital signal processing unit 60 performs the noise correction operation described with reference to FIG.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the noise signal is read out in a plurality of times during the charge accumulation time, the long-time accumulation occurs when the dark current generation intensity of the FD3 is stronger than the PD1. This makes it possible to prevent the saturation of the charge of the noise component of FD3.

  In this embodiment, the signal path for outputting the noise signal is the same as the signal path for outputting the optical signal, so that it is difficult to receive noise such as external noise, and a good image signal is obtained. Can be obtained.

  In this embodiment, median processing is performed as noise image processing. However, in a sensor having no pixel defect, it is not necessary to perform median processing. In this case, it is possible to correct the fixed pattern generated for each pixel by performing the subtraction process with the noise image that has just undergone gain correction.

  Further, the median treatment is calculated in the range of 5 pixels × 5 pixels, but the range may be changed so that a better image can be obtained.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices (for example, an imaging device, an interface device, a computer, etc.), or may be applied to a device (for example, an imaging device, etc.) composed of a single device. . When configured by a plurality of devices, the light output image and the noise image output from the analog front end 56 of the imaging apparatus may be output to the external computer 71 as they are, and the external computer 71 performs the processing of FIG.

  The object of the present invention can also be achieved as follows. First, a storage medium (or recording medium) that records a program code of software that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus. Then, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the following can be achieved. That is, when the operating system (OS) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the read program code, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. It is. Examples of the storage medium for storing the program code include a flexible disk, hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, and the like. Can be considered. Also, a computer network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) can be used to supply the program code.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating a configuration of mainly one pixel of the image sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the concept of the cross section of the pixel in the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the potential of each structure. FIG. 3 is a drive timing diagram of the image sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the correction process of the noise signal in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the correction process of the noise signal in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a drive timing chart of an image sensor during charge accumulation in the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photodiode 2 Transfer switch 3 Floating diffusion part 4 Reset switch 5 Power supply line 6 Field effect transistor 7 Selection switch 8 Vertical output line 9 Pixel 11 Constant current source 12, 14 Capacitor 13, 15 Switch 16 Reading line 55 Image pick-up element 65 Timing generation 59 A / D converter 60 Digital signal processor

Claims (10)

A photoelectric converter that receives light from the subject image and converts it into a signal;
A semiconductor region to which a signal from the photoelectric conversion unit is transferred;
Transfer means for transferring a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit to the semiconductor region;
An image sensor comprising a plurality of pixels each having a reading means for reading a signal of the semiconductor region;
Correction means for performing correction on the first signal read from the photoelectric conversion unit based on the second signal read from the signal accumulated in the semiconductor region during signal accumulation in the photoelectric conversion unit; An imaging device comprising:   The reading means reads the signal accumulated in the semiconductor region in a plurality of times during signal accumulation in the photoelectric conversion unit, and the correction means adds the signals read in the plurality of times to add the first signal. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two signals are calculated.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit subtracts a signal having a preset ratio of the second signal from the first signal. A reset means for resetting a signal of the semiconductor region;
4. The signal according to claim 1, wherein the first signal is a signal read from the photoelectric conversion unit by the transfer unit and the reading unit after resetting the signal of the semiconductor region. 5. An imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit performs median processing on the second signal prior to the correction. A photoelectric conversion unit that receives light from a subject image and converts the light into a signal; a semiconductor region to which a signal from the photoelectric conversion unit is transferred; and a transfer unit that transfers a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit to the semiconductor region; A method for correcting a signal obtained from an image pickup device including a plurality of pixels having a reading unit that reads out a signal of the semiconductor region,
A first reading step of reading a first signal from the photoelectric conversion unit;
A second reading step of reading a second signal accumulated in the semiconductor region during signal accumulation in the photoelectric conversion unit;
And a correction step of performing correction based on the second signal with respect to the first signal.   In the second readout step, the signal accumulated in the semiconductor region is read out multiple times during the signal accumulation of the photoelectric conversion unit, and the signal read out in the second readout step is added in the correction step. The correction method according to claim 6, wherein the second signal is calculated.   8. The correction method according to claim 6, wherein, in the correction step, a signal having a preset ratio of the second signal is subtracted from the first signal. 9. A reset step of resetting the signal in the semiconductor region;
9. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in the first reading step, after the signal of the semiconductor region is reset, the first signal is read from the photoelectric conversion unit by the transfer unit and the reading unit. The correction method of crab.   The correction method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of performing median processing on the second signal prior to the correction step.

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