JP7029683B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

The present application relates to an image pickup apparatus.

In recent years, image pickup devices (imaging elements) have been widely used in various product fields such as video cameras, digital still cameras, surveillance cameras and in-vehicle cameras. As the image pickup device, a CCD (Challe Coupled Device) type solid-state image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type solid-state image sensor is used. Among them, CMOS type solid-state image sensors are becoming mainstream. Since the CMOS type solid-state image sensor can be manufactured using a general-purpose CMOS process, existing equipment can be used and the image sensor can be stably supplied. In addition, since peripheral circuits can be mounted on the same chip, signals can be read out from the image sensor at high speed, and high speed and high resolution can be achieved. As described above, the CMOS type solid-state image sensor has many advantages.

For the CMOS type solid-state image sensor, for example, CDS (Correlated Double Sample) disclosed in Patent Document 1 is widely used.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-129705 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-28516 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-78870

In the field of image pickup devices, there is a demand for noise reduction. In particular, there is a demand for reducing kTC noise (also referred to as "reset noise") generated at the time of reset. One non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the present application provides an imaging device capable of effectively suppressing reset noise.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present disclosure includes a unit pixel cell including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light and a signal detection circuit that detects a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit, and is a signal detection circuit. Does not pass the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit to the first transistor, the first transistor that amplifies the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit, the second transistor that selectively outputs the output of the first transistor to the outside, and the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit to the outside. It includes an image pickup device having a feedback circuit for negative feedback.

Another aspect of the present disclosure comprises a unit pixel cell including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light and a signal detection circuit that detects a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit, and the signal detection circuit is a photoelectric conversion unit. A first transistor that amplifies the signal, a second transistor that selectively outputs the output of the first transistor to the outside, and a feedback circuit that negatively feeds back the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit via the first transistor. Includes an imaging device with.

It should be noted that the comprehensive or specific embodiment may be realized by an element, a device, a system, an integrated circuit, and a method. In addition, the comprehensive or specific embodiment may be realized by any combination of elements, devices, systems, integrated circuits, and methods.

Additional effects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent from the specification and drawings. The effects and / or advantages are provided individually by the various embodiments and features disclosed in the specification and drawings, and not all are required to obtain one or more of these.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an image pickup apparatus capable of effectively suppressing reset noise.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a pixel circuit of a typical image pickup device. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of a pixel circuit of a typical image pickup device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110A of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the photodetector 1. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the photodetector 1. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50A according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50A. FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing another example of the operation of the read circuit 50A. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110B of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50B. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing still another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing still another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing still another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing still another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a timing chart showing another example of the operation of the read circuit 50B. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110C of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 19A is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50C according to the third embodiment. FIG. 19B is a schematic diagram showing another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50C according to the third embodiment. FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50C. FIG. 21A is a schematic diagram showing still another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50C according to the third embodiment. FIG. 21B is a schematic diagram showing still another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50C according to the third embodiment. FIG. 22A is a schematic diagram showing still another circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50C according to the third embodiment. FIG. 22B is a schematic diagram showing still another circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50C according to the third embodiment. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110D of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50D according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 25 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50D. FIG. 26 is a timing chart showing another example of the operation of the read circuit 50D. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50D according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110E of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram showing another exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110E of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50E according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 31 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50E. FIG. 32 is a timing chart showing another example of the operation of the read circuit 50E. FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50E according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing still another circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50E according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the camera system 600 according to the sixth embodiment.

First, a typical CDS will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 before describing embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows a typical pixel circuit. The pixel circuit includes a PD (Photodetector) unit, an FD (Floating Diffusion), a TX transistor, a RES transistor, an AMP transistor, and a SEL transistor. The PD unit detects an optical signal. The FD converts the electric charge generated in the PD unit into a voltage signal and temporarily holds the electric charge. The TX transistor transfers a charge signal from the PD unit to the FD. The RES transistor resets the voltage of the FD. The AMP transistor amplifies the voltage signal of the FD. The SEL transistor outputs an amplified signal. The PD unit is typically a photodiode.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the pixel circuit shown in Patent Document 1. At time t1, the RES transistor is turned off by lowering the RES signal. By setting the SEL signal to a high level at time t2, the SEL transistor is turned on and the reset voltage is output. When the SEL transistor is turned on, the reset voltage includes kTC noise, so that temporal fluctuations occur in the signal. Then, at time t3, the TX signal is set to a high level and the TX transistor is turned on. As a result, the signal charge accumulated in the PD unit is transferred to the FD. Next, at time t4, the TX signal is set to a low level and the TX transistor is turned off. As a result, the signal voltage is fixed. The determined signal voltage is a signal that changes by the voltage corresponding to the accumulated signal charge with the reset voltage as a reference. Therefore, in the subsequent circuit, by taking the difference between the reset voltage and the signal voltage, kTC noise can be canceled and only the voltage corresponding to the accumulated signal charge can be detected.

As described above, according to the CDS, the kTC noise generated when the pixel is reset can be greatly suppressed. This is one of the factors that CMOS type solid-state image sensors are becoming mainstream.

Hereinafter, the problems of the above technique considered by the inventor of the present application will be described.

All of the signal charges generated in the PD unit that detects the optical signal are transferred to the FD. This is called a complete transfer. In order to realize complete transfer, there are problems such as complicated manufacturing process and increased manufacturing cost.

Further, recently, a solid-state image sensor capable of imaging a moving object at high speed without distortion has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a solid-state image sensor provided with pixels that realize a global shutter.

In the solid-state image sensor of Patent Document 2, the charges of the PD portions of all the pixels are collectively transferred to the FD. After that, the signal voltage is sequentially read out row by row. Therefore, the reset voltage cannot be read before the signal voltage of the FD is read. Therefore, when CDS is applied to the solid-state image sensor of Patent Document 2, the FD is reset after reading the signal voltage of the FD, the reset voltage is read, and the difference between the signal voltage and the reset voltage is taken. However, in this case, since there is no correlation between the reset noise included in the signal voltage and the reset noise included in the reset voltage, it is difficult to remove the reset noise. As a result, even if the CDS is applied to the solid-state image sensor of Patent Document 2, the random noise becomes larger than the above-mentioned reading by the CDS.

Recently, the area per pixel tends to decrease due to the increase in the number of pixels, and the area of the PD portion tends to decrease. As a result, a decrease in sensitivity can occur. A solid-state image sensor that solves this problem has also been proposed. For example, Patent Document 3 discloses an organic CMOS sensor using an organic photoelectric conversion film in the PD portion. According to this organic CMOS sensor, the organic photoelectric conversion film which is a light receiving portion is provided above the readout circuit. Therefore, even if the pixel size is reduced, the area of the light receiving portion can be increased, and high sensitivity can be realized.

In the organic CMOS sensor, since the PD unit and the semiconductor layer are electrically connected via the metal wiring, the signal charge cannot be completely transferred. Therefore, typically, a method is adopted in which the PD unit and the FD are electrically connected to read out the voltage due to the signal charge stored in the PD unit. As a result, the generation of noise and afterimage due to incomplete transfer can be suppressed.

Specifically, the voltage of the FD changes according to the amount of signal charge accumulated in the FD during exposure. The voltage of the FD when the signal charge is accumulated is read out as a signal voltage. After that, the signal charge stored in the FD is reset, and the voltage of the FD at this time is read out as the reset voltage. Then, the difference between the signal voltage and the reset voltage is acquired.

However, in this case, there is no correlation between the reset noise included in the signal voltage and the reset noise included in the reset voltage. Therefore, the reset noise cannot be removed. As a result, the random noise becomes larger than the above-mentioned reading by CDS.

In view of such problems, the inventor of the present application has come up with an image pickup apparatus having a novel structure. The outline of one aspect of the present disclosure is as described in the following items.

[Item 1]
A unit pixel cell including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light and a signal detection circuit that detects a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit is provided, and the signal detection circuit includes a first transistor that amplifies the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit. An image pickup apparatus comprising a second transistor that selectively outputs the output of the first transistor to the outside, and a feedback circuit that negatively feeds back the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit without passing through the first transistor.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be effectively suppressed.

[Item 2]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 1, wherein the first transistor is arranged outside the feedback path of the feedback circuit.

[Item 3]
A unit pixel cell including a photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light and a signal detection circuit that detects a signal of the photoelectric conversion unit is provided, and the signal detection circuit includes a first transistor that amplifies the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit. An image pickup apparatus comprising a second transistor that selectively outputs the output of the first transistor to the outside, and a feedback circuit that negatively feeds back the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit via the first transistor.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be effectively suppressed.

[Item 4]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 3, wherein the first transistor is arranged in the feedback path of the feedback circuit.

[Item 5]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 3 or 4, wherein a constant current source is connected to the output side of the first transistor.

According to this configuration, the band of the first transistor (amplification transistor) can be widened, and noise suppression can be performed at high speed.

[Item 6]
The image pickup apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5, further comprising a reset transistor for initializing a signal of a photoelectric conversion unit.

According to this configuration, the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit can be initialized, and reset noise can be suppressed at high speed.

[Item 7]
The imaging apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the signal detection circuit switches the amplification factor between a first period in which the feedback circuit is valid and a second period in which the feedback circuit is disabled.

According to this configuration, the noise suppression rate can be improved at the time of noise suppression, and stable operation can be realized at the time of reading.

[Item 8]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 6, wherein the reset transistor forms a part of a loop of the feedback circuit.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be effectively suppressed in a small area at high speed.

[Item 9]
Item 8. The image pickup apparatus according to item 8, wherein the reset transistor is a negative feedback transistor.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be effectively suppressed in a small area at high speed.

[Item 10]
The image pickup apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 9, further comprising first and second capacitive elements connected in series with each other between the photoelectric conversion unit and the reference voltage.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be suppressed more effectively.

[Item 11]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 10, wherein the feedback circuit is formed via a first capacitive element.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be suppressed more effectively.

[Item 12]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 10, wherein the capacitance of the second capacitive element is larger than the capacitance of the first capacitive element.

According to this configuration, reset noise can be suppressed more efficiently by increasing the capacitance of the second capacitive element as much as the area allows.

[Item 13]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 6, wherein one end of the reset transistor is connected to the photoelectric conversion unit without forming a part of the loop of the feedback circuit.

According to this configuration, the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit can be reset to an arbitrary level.

[Item 14]
The image pickup apparatus according to item 6, wherein the other end of the reset transistor is connected to the output of the first transistor.

According to this configuration, the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit can be reset by the output of the first transistor without providing a reference voltage. Since the change in the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit before and after turning off the reset transistor can be reduced, higher-speed noise suppression becomes possible.

[Item 15]
It also has a band control transistor that controls the band of the feedback circuit.
The bandwidth control transistor forms part of the loop of the feedback circuit and
Item 6. The image pickup apparatus according to item 6, wherein the other end of the reset transistor is connected to a band control transistor.

According to this configuration, the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit can be reset by the output of the band control transistor without providing a reference voltage. Since the change in the signal of the photoelectric conversion unit before and after turning off the reset transistor can be reduced, higher-speed noise suppression becomes possible.

[Item 16]
Further equipped with a signal reading line connected to the second transistor,
The second transistor is
The first period of electrically disconnecting the output of the first transistor and the signal readout line,
A second period of electrically connecting the output of the first transistor and the signal readout line,
The image pickup apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5.

According to this configuration, since the output of the first transistor and the signal read line are not connected, high-speed noise cancellation is possible without depending on the time constant of the read line.

[Item 17]
It also has a band control transistor that controls the band of the feedback circuit.
The image pickup apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the band control transistor is controlled so as to continuously change from an arbitrary first band to an arbitrary second band.

According to this configuration, stable noise cancellation is possible.

[Item 18]
The image pickup apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 17 and
An optical system that forms a subject image on an image pickup device,
A signal processing unit that processes the output signal from the image pickup device,
With a camera system.

According to this camera system, reset noise at the time of reading can be appropriately suppressed, and a good image can be acquired.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. Further, it can be appropriately changed as long as it does not deviate from the range in which the effect of the present invention is exhibited. Furthermore, it is also possible to combine one embodiment with another. In the following description, the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition, duplicate explanations may be omitted.

In the first to fifth embodiments described below, except for some transistors, in principle, each transistor in the readout circuit is assumed to be an NaCl transistor. As a matter of course, a polyclonal transistor may be used instead of the NaCl transistor. In that case, the polarity of each control signal is inverted. A combination of an IGMP transistor and a polyclonal transistor may be used.

(First Embodiment)
The structure, function, and driving method of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. The image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a readout circuit 50A including three transistors.

(Structure of Imaging Device 100)
First, the structure of the image pickup apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an exemplary circuit configuration of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The image pickup device 100 is, for example, a laminated image pickup device, and has a photoelectric conversion film laminated on a semiconductor substrate. The image pickup apparatus 100 includes a plurality of unit pixel cells 110A and peripheral circuits.

A photosensitive region (pixel region) is formed by arranging a plurality of unit pixel cells 110A in two dimensions. The plurality of unit pixel cells 110A may be arranged one-dimensionally. In that case, the image pickup apparatus 100 may be a line sensor.

In the illustrated example, the plurality of unit pixel cells 110A are arranged in the row direction and the column direction. In the present specification, the row direction and the column direction mean the directions in which the rows and columns extend, respectively. That is, in the drawing, the vertical direction (vertical direction) is the column direction, and the horizontal direction (horizontal direction) is the row direction.

Each of the unit pixel cells 110A is connected to the power supply wiring 120. A predetermined power supply voltage is supplied to each unit pixel cell 110A via the power supply wiring 120. The image pickup apparatus 100 has a photoelectric conversion film that photoelectrically converts incident light. The same constant voltage is supplied to the entire photoelectric conversion film via the storage control line 130. However, when performing control such as suppressing fluctuations, the photoelectric conversion film may be divided into several regions and different voltages may be supplied to each region. A detailed description of the unit pixel cell 110A will be described later.

Peripheral circuits include a vertical scanning circuit (also referred to as a "row scanning circuit") 141, a column signal processing circuit (also referred to as a "row signal storage circuit") 142, and a horizontal signal readout circuit (also referred to as a "column scanning circuit") 143. And a constant current source 144. The column signal processing circuit 142 and the constant current source 144 may be arranged for each column of the unit pixel cells 110A arranged in two dimensions.

Hereinafter, an example of the configuration of the peripheral circuit will be described.

The vertical scanning circuit 141 is connected to the selection control signal line (address signal line) CON7 and the band control signal line CON1. The vertical scanning circuit 141 selects a plurality of unit pixel cells 110A arranged in each row in units of rows by applying a predetermined voltage to the selection control signal line CON7. As a result, the reading of the signal voltage of the selected unit pixel cell 110A and the reset of the pixel electrode described later are executed.

The unit pixel cell 110A arranged in each row is electrically connected to the column signal processing circuit 142 via the vertical signal line 170 corresponding to each row. The column signal processing circuit 142 performs noise suppression signal processing represented by correlated double sampling, analog-to-digital conversion (AD conversion), and the like. The plurality of column signal processing circuits 142 are connected to the horizontal signal reading circuit 143. The horizontal signal reading circuit 143 reads signals from the plurality of column signal processing circuits 142 and outputs the signals to the horizontal common signal line 180.

Next, the structure of the unit pixel cell 110A will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110A of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The unit pixel cell 110A includes a photodetector 1, an amplifier 2, a band control unit 3, a charge storage unit, and an output selection unit 5. The photodetector 1 detects light and generates a signal charge. In the present specification, the photodetector 1 may be referred to as a photoelectric conversion unit. The charge storage unit includes a node that stores the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1. Hereinafter, this charge storage unit is referred to as "FD".

The read circuit 50A is formed by the amplifier 2, the band control unit 3, the FD, and the output selection unit 5. The photodetector 1 converts light into a signal charge. The readout circuit 50A reads out the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1.

5A and 5B show an example of photodetector 1, respectively. The photodetector 1 may be composed of, for example, an upper electrode 1a, a lower electrode 1b, and an organic photoelectric conversion film 1A sandwiched between them, as shown in FIG. 5A. By applying a reference voltage Vp to the upper electrode 1a and connecting one end of the node forming the FD to the lower electrode 1b, the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1 can be accumulated in the FD. As shown in FIG. 5B, the photodiode 1B may be used as the photodetector 1. By applying a ground voltage or a reference voltage Vp to one end of the photodiode 1B and connecting one end of the node forming the FD to the other end of the photodiode 1B, the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1 is transferred to the FD. Can be accumulated. The photodetector 1 may be another element having a photoelectric conversion function.

See FIG. 4 again. The FD is connected to the photodetector 1 by a wiring layer. The FD accumulates the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1. The FD is further connected to the input of the amplifier 2. The amplifier 2 amplifies the signal corresponding to the signal charge stored in the FD, and outputs the signal to the band control unit 3 and the output selection unit 5.

The amplifier 2 and the band control unit 3 form a loop (feedback circuit) 30 via the FD. The band control unit 3 includes a band control circuit 3A. The band control circuit 3A is supplied with at least three different voltages from the voltage control circuit 99. By supplying such a voltage, the band control circuit 3A has a band control function. The band control circuit 3A limits the band of the output signal of the amplifier 2 and outputs the signal to the FD unit. In the feedback circuit 30, the signal read from the FD is amplified by the amplifier 2, band-limited by the band control circuit 3A, and fed back to the FD.

The output selection unit 5 is connected to the signal reading line 7. The signal readout line 7 is shared by at least two pixels. The signal amplified by the amplifier 2 is output to the signal reading line 7 via the output selection unit 5. The signal readout line 7 corresponds to the vertical signal line 170 shown in FIG. The constant current source 6 corresponds to the constant current source 144 shown in FIG.

The structure and function of the readout circuit 50A will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50A. The feedback circuit 30 negatively feeds back the signal of the photodetector 1 to the FD via the first amplification transistor 200.

The amplifier 2 includes a first amplification transistor 200 and a switching circuit 20 including a first switch element 11 and a second switch element 12. It is assumed that the transistor in the readout circuit 50A is an NaCl transistor. Hereinafter, the electrical connection relationship of the readout circuit 50A will be described.

An FD is connected to the gate of the first amplification transistor 200. The band control unit 3 includes a first band control transistor 300. The output selection unit 5 includes a first selection transistor 500. One of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is connected to one of the source and drain of the first bandwidth control transistor 300 and one of the source and drain of the first selection transistor 500. Further, the other of the source and drain of the first bandwidth control transistor 300 is connected to the FD. The RC filter circuit is formed by the first band control transistor 300 and the capacitive component parasitic on the FD.

A band control signal line CON1 is connected to the gate of the first band control transistor 300. The state of the first band control transistor 300 is determined by the voltage of the band control signal line CON1. For example, when the voltage of the band control signal line CON1 is at a high level, the first band control transistor 300 is turned on. As a result, a feedback path is formed by the FD, the first amplification transistor 200, and the first band control transistor 300.

When the voltage of the band control signal line CON1 becomes low, the resistance component of the first band control transistor 300 becomes large. Therefore, the band of the first band control transistor 300 is narrowed, and the frequency range of the feedback signal is narrowed. When the voltage of the band control signal line CON1 becomes a lower low level, the first band control transistor 300 is turned off. As a result, no feedback path is formed.

The other of the source and drain of the first selection transistor 500 is connected to the signal readout line 7. The gate of the first selection transistor 500 is controlled by the selection control signal line CON7. The state of the first selection transistor 500 is determined by the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7. For example, when the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7 is at a high level, the first selection transistor 500 is turned on. As a result, the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal readout line 7 are electrically connected. When the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7 is low level, the first selection transistor 500 is turned off. As a result, the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal readout line 7 are electrically separated.

A switching circuit 20 is connected to the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200. Specifically, the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is connected to the first voltage source VA1 via the first switch element 11. Further, the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is also connected to the second voltage source VA2 via the second switch element 12. By controlling the switching circuit 20 by the control signals V1 and V2, the voltage applied to the other of the source and the drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is switched to the voltage Va1 or the voltage Va2. The voltage Va1 of the first voltage source VA1 is, for example, the ground voltage GND. The voltage Va2 of the second voltage source VA2 is, for example, VDD. The switching circuit 20 may be provided for each pixel, or may be shared by a plurality of pixels in order to reduce the number of elements per pixel.

A constant current source 6 is connected to the signal reading line 7. When the first selection transistor 500 is on, the source follower circuit is formed by the first selection transistor 500, the first amplification transistor 200, and the constant current source 6. The signal corresponding to the signal charge accumulated in the FD is output to the signal reading line 7 and read out to the outside. The constant current source 6 may be provided for each pixel, or may be shared by a plurality of pixels in order to reduce the number of elements per pixel.

(Operation of the image pickup apparatus 100)
Next, the operation flow of the readout circuit 50A will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50A. The horizontal axis of each graph shows time, and the vertical axis shows the voltage of the band control signal line CON1, the voltage of the selective control signal line CON7, and the voltage VS of the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 in order from the top. Shows.

(Reset period)
At time t1, the voltage of the selective control signal line CON7 is at a low level. Therefore, the first selection transistor 500 is in the off state, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal readout line 7 are electrically separated. Further, at time t1, the voltage of the band control signal line CON1 is set to a high level, and the first band control transistor 300 is turned on. Further, at time t1, the first switch element 11 of the switching circuit 20 is in the ON state, and the voltage Va1 (for example, GND) is applied to the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200. .. As a result, the voltage of the FD becomes equal to the reset voltage VRST.

Here, the voltage of the band control signal line CON1 is set so that the operating band of the first band control transistor 300 becomes the first band, which is a wide band. As a result, the voltage of the FD can be set to the reset voltage VRST at high speed. The first band means the operating band of the first band control transistor 300 corresponding to the high level gate voltage.

In this embodiment, this reset period is provided in order to set the FD to the reset voltage at high speed. However, if there is a margin in the drive time, the operation of setting the FD to the reset voltage may be performed within the noise suppression period described later without providing this period.

(Noise suppression period)
Next, in the period from time t2 to time t4, the voltage of the band control signal line CON1 is set to a voltage between the high level and the low level, for example, an intermediate voltage. In that case, the operating band of the first band control transistor 300 is a second band narrower than the first band. The second band means the operating band of the first band control transistor 300 when the gate voltage is an intermediate voltage.

By making the second band sufficiently narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the noise suppression effect becomes large. However, on the other hand, the time from time t2 to time t4 becomes long. Even if the second band is wider than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the noise suppression effect can be obtained. Therefore, the designer can arbitrarily design the second band according to the allowable time from the time t2 to the time t4. Hereinafter, the second band will be described as a band sufficiently narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200.

When the second band is narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the thermal noise generated in the first band control transistor 300 is suppressed by the feedback circuit. When the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 is −A times, the thermal noise is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 times.

The switching circuit 20 is set so that the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is GND. The designer can design the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 so as to be the optimum value for the circuit system. Typically, A is greater than 1 and is tens to ones.
It can be set to a numerical value of about 00.

Next, when the voltage of the band control line CON1 is set to a low level at time t4 and the first band control transistor 300 is turned off, the kTC noise remaining in the FD when the first band control transistor 300 is turned off is also 1 as compared with the case where there is no feedback. / (1 + A) is suppressed by ^1/2 times.

(Exposure / readout period)
At time t5, the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7 is set to a high level and the first selection transistor 500 is turned on. Further, the switching circuit 20 is controlled so that the voltage of the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 becomes Va2 (for example, VDD). That is, the second switch element 12 is turned on, and the voltage Va2 is applied to the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200. In this state, the first amplification transistor 200 and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. Then, the signal reading line 7 becomes a voltage corresponding to the signal charge accumulated in the FD. At that time, the amplification factor of the source floor circuit is about 1 time.

At time t5, the voltage of the FD changes by the voltage corresponding to the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1 during the period from time t4 to time t5 with reference to the reset voltage VRST. The voltage of the FD is amplified by the amplifier 2 at an amplification factor of about 1 times, and is output to the signal reading line 7.

Random noise means fluctuation of the output when the signal charge generated in the photodetector 1 is 0, that is, kTC noise. The kTC noise is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 times during the noise suppression period, and is further output to the signal readout line 7 at an amplification factor of about 1 times during the exposure / readout period. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to acquire good image data in which random noise is suppressed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is also possible to carry out CDS in order to cancel the variation in the peripheral circuit. Specifically, after reading the signal voltage of the FD by the source follower circuit, the above-mentioned reset operation is performed again. After the reset operation is completed and before the photodetector 1 performs the photodetection, the read operation is performed again by the source follower circuit. As a result, the reset voltage VRST can be read out. CDS can be implemented by taking the difference between the signal voltage of the FD and the reset voltage.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the FD signal is read out by the source follower circuit during the exposure period, the amplification factor is about 1 time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the designer may change the amplification factor according to the signal-to-noise ratio S / N or the circuit range required for the system.

According to this embodiment, the feedback for noise cancellation is performed in each pixel of the plurality of unit pixel cells 110A. As a result, noise cancellation can be performed at high speed without being affected by the time constant of the read line 7.

Finally, another control method of the band control signal line CON1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing another example of the operation of the read circuit 50A. As shown in the figure, even if the band control signal CON1 is controlled so that the first band control transistor 300 gradually changes from the on state to the off state across the threshold voltage of the first band control transistor 300. good. In the present specification, such reset control is referred to as "taper reset".

As a result, even if the threshold voltage of the first band control transistor 300 varies among the plurality of unit pixel cells 110A constituting the image pickup apparatus 100, the noise generated in all the pixels is effectively eliminated. It can be suppressed. Further, the change width of the voltage applied to the band control signal line CON1 in the taper reset may be limited to the range of the variation of the threshold voltage of the first band control transistor 300 of each pixel. As a result, the time required for taper reset can be shortened, and noise suppression can be performed at high speed.

(Second embodiment)
The structure, function, and driving method of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 17. The image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes a readout circuit 50B including four transistors.

(Structure of Imaging Device 100)
Similar to the first embodiment, the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of unit pixel cells 110B arranged in two dimensions and a peripheral circuit. The unit pixel cell 110B is connected to a peripheral circuit via various control lines.

FIG. 9 schematically shows an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110B of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The unit pixel cell 110B includes a photodetector 1 and a readout circuit 50B. The readout circuit 50B includes an amplifier 2, a band control unit 3', an FD, and an output selection unit 5. The readout circuit 50B reads out the signal charge generated by the photodetector 1.

The FD is connected to the photodetector 1 by a wiring layer. The FD is further connected to the input of the amplifier 2. The amplifier 2 amplifies the signal corresponding to the signal charge stored in the FD, and outputs the signal to the band control unit 3'and the output selection unit 5.

The band control unit 3'includes a reset circuit 4A for resetting the FD and a band control circuit 3B. The band control circuit 3B is supplied with at least three different voltages from the voltage control circuit 99. By supplying such a voltage, the band control circuit 3B has a band control function. The band control circuit 3B limits the band to the output signal of the amplifier 2 and outputs it to the FD unit. The signal charge stored in the FD is reset by the reset circuit 4A. The signal read from the FD is amplified by the amplifier 2. The amplified signal is band-limited by the band control circuit 3B and then returned to the FD.

The output selection unit 5 is connected to the signal reading line 7. The signal readout line 7 is shared by at least two pixels. The signal amplified by the amplifier 2 is output to the signal reading line 7 via the output selection unit 5.

FIG. 10 schematically shows an example of the circuit configuration of the read circuit 50B. The feedback circuit 30'negatively feeds back the signal from the photodetector 1 to the FD via the first amplification transistor 200.

The reset circuit 4A of the band control unit 3'includes a reset transistor 400. The band control circuit 3B includes a second band control transistor 301, a first capacitive element 9, and a second capacitive element 10. As used herein, the term "capacitive element" means a structure in which a dielectric such as an insulating film is sandwiched between electrodes. Further, the "electrode" is not limited to an electrode formed of a metal, and is interpreted to include a polysilicon layer and the like widely. The electrode may be a part of a semiconductor substrate. The first capacitive element 9 and the second capacitive element 10 are, for example, MIM (Metal Insular Cortex) capacitance or MIS (Metal Insular).
It may be a tor Semiconductor) capacity.

The amplifier 2 includes a first amplification transistor 200 and a switching circuit 20 including a first switch element 11 and a second switch element 12. The output selection unit 5 includes a first selection transistor 500. Hereinafter, the electrical connection relationship of the read circuit 50B will be described.

The gate of the first amplification transistor 200 is connected to the FD. One of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is connected to one of the source and drain of the second bandwidth control transistor 301. One of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is also connected to one of the source and drain of the first selection transistor 500. Further, the other of the source and drain of the second band control transistor 301 is connected to one end of the first capacitive element 9. Further, a reference voltage VR1 is applied to the other end of the first capacitive element 9. As a result, the RC filter circuit is formed by the second band control transistor 301 and the first capacitive element 9.

The other of the source and drain of the second bandwidth control transistor 301 is also connected to one end of the second capacitive element 10. Further, the other end of the second capacitance element 10 is connected to the FD. In the present specification, the node formed between the second bandwidth control transistor 301, the first capacitive element 9 and the second capacitive element 10 is referred to as "RD".

The gate of the second band control transistor 301 is connected to the band control signal line CON3. The state of the second band control transistor 301 is determined by the voltage of the band control signal line CON3. For example, when the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 is at a high level, the second band control transistor 301 is turned on. At this time, a feedback path (feedback circuit 30') is formed by the FD, the first amplification transistor 200, the second band control transistor 301, and the second capacitive element 10.

When the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 becomes low, the resistance component of the second band control transistor 301 becomes large. Therefore, the band of the second band control transistor 301 is narrowed, and the frequency domain of the feedback signal is narrowed.

When the feedback path is formed, the signal output by the second band control transistor 301 is attenuated by the attenuation circuit formed by the parasitic capacitance of the second capacitive element 10 and the FD, and is fed back to the FD. Assuming that the capacitance of the second capacitive element 10 is Cc and the parasitic capacitance of FD is Cfd, the attenuation factor B is represented by Cc / (Cc + Cfd).

When the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 becomes further low and becomes low level, the second band control transistor 301 is turned off and the feedback path is not formed.

The FD is further connected to one of the source and drain of the reset transistor 400. A reference voltage VR2 is applied to the other of the source and drain of the reset transistor 400. The gate of the reset transistor 400 is connected to the reset control signal line CON2, and the state of the reset transistor 400 is determined by the voltage of the reset control signal line CON2. For example, when the voltage of the reset control signal line CON2 is at a high level, the reset transistor 400 is turned on and the FD is reset to the reference voltage VR2.

The other of the source and drain of the first selection transistor 500 is connected to the signal readout line 7. The gate of the first selection transistor 500 is connected to the selection control signal line CON7, and the state of the first selection transistor 500 is determined by the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7. For example, when the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7 is at a high level, the first selection transistor 500 is turned on, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal reading line 7 are electrically connected. When the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7 is low level, the first selection transistor 500 is turned off. As a result, the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal readout line 7 are electrically separated.

A switching circuit 20 is connected to the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200. Specifically, the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is connected to the first voltage source VA1 via the first switch element 11. Further, the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is also connected to the second voltage source VA2 via the second switch element 12. By controlling the switching circuit 20 by the control signals V1 and V2, the voltage applied to the other of the source and the drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is switched to the voltage Va1 or the voltage Va2. The voltage Va1 of the first voltage source VA1 is, for example, GND. The voltage Va2 of the second voltage source VA2 is, for example, VDD. The switching circuit 20 may be provided for each pixel, or may be shared by a plurality of pixels in order to reduce the number of elements per pixel.

A constant current source 6 is connected to the signal reading line 7. When the first selection transistor 500 is on, the source follower circuit is formed by the first selection transistor 500, the first amplification transistor 200, and the constant current source 6. The signal corresponding to the signal charge accumulated in the FD is output to the signal reading line 7 and read out to the outside. The constant current source 6 may be provided for each pixel, or may be shared by a plurality of pixels in order to reduce the number of elements per pixel.

Next, the operation flow of the readout circuit 50B will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50B. The horizontal axis of each graph shows time, and the vertical axis shows the voltage of the reset control signal CON2, the voltage of the band control signal line CON3, the voltage of the selective control signal line CON7, and the source of the first amplification transistor 200 in order from the top. And the other voltage VS of the drain are shown respectively.

(Reset period)
At time t11, the voltage of the selective control line CON7 is at a low level. Therefore, the first selection transistor 500 is in the off state, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal readout line 7 are electrically separated. Further, at time t11, the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 is set to a high level and the second band control transistor 301 is turned on. Further, at time t11, the first switch element 11 of the switching circuit 20 is in the ON state, and a voltage Va1 (for example, GND) is applied to the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200. Further, at time t11, by raising the voltage of the reset control signal line CON2 to a high level and turning on the reset transistor 400, the FD is reset and the voltage of the FD becomes the reference voltage VR2.

At time t12, the voltage of the reset control signal line CON2 is set to a low level, and the reset transistor 400 is turned off. At this time, the read circuit 50B forms a feedback circuit having an amplification factor of −A × B times. Therefore, the kTC noise in the FD generated when the reset transistor 400 is turned off is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A × B) times. By setting the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 to a high level so that the operating band of the second band control transistor 301 becomes the first band which is a wide band, kTC noise can be suppressed at high speed.

(Noise suppression period)
During the period from time t13 to time t15, the voltage of the bandwidth control signal line CON3 is set between the high level and the low level, for example, an intermediate voltage. In that case, the operating band of the second band control transistor 301 is a second band narrower than the first band.

By making the second band sufficiently narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the noise suppression effect becomes large, but the time from t13 to t15 also becomes long. Even if the bandwidth is wider than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the noise suppression effect can be obtained. Depending on the allowable time from time t13 to time t15, the designer can arbitrarily design the second band. Hereinafter, the second band is treated as a band sufficiently narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200.

When the second band is narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the thermal noise generated in the second band control transistor 301 is 1 / (1 + A × B) ¹ due to the feedback circuit 30'. ^/ Suppressed twice. In this state, when the voltage of the band control line CON3 is set to a low level at time t15 and the second band control transistor 301 is turned off, the kTC noise remaining in the FD portion when the second band control transistor 301 is turned off is the kTC noise caused by the reset transistor 400. And the kTC noise caused by the second band control transistor 301 are summed to the square.

Assuming that the capacitance of the first capacitive element 9 is Cs, the kTC noise of the second band control transistor 301 generated without suppression by feedback becomes the kTC noise of the reset transistor 400 generated without suppression by feedback. Compared to (Cfd / Cs), it is ^1/2 times. In consideration of this point, the kTC noise in the case of feedback is suppressed to {1+ (1 + A × B) × Cfd / Cs} ^1/2 / (1 + A × B) times as compared with the case of no feedback.

(Exposure / readout period)
At time t16, the voltage of the selection control signal line CON7 is set to a high level, the first selection transistor 500 is turned on, and the other voltage of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 becomes Va2 (for example, VDD). The switching circuit 20 is controlled. In this state, the first amplification transistor 200 and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. The signal reading line 7 has a voltage corresponding to the signal charge stored in the FD. At that time, the amplification factor of the source floor circuit is about 1 time.

At time t16, the voltage of the FD changes from the reset voltage (VR2) by the amount corresponding to the electrical signal generated by the photodetector 1 during the period from time t15 to t16. The voltage of the FD is amplified by the amplifier 2 at an amplification factor of about 1 times and output to the signal reading line 7.

Random noise means fluctuation of the output when the signal charge generated in the photodetector 1 is 0, that is, kTC noise. The kTC noise is suppressed to {1+ (1 + A × B) × Cfd / Cs} ^1/2 / (1 + A × B) times during the noise suppression period, and further, the signal is amplified at an amplification factor of about 1 time during the exposure / readout period. It is output to the read line 7. As a result, it is possible to acquire good image data in which random noise is suppressed.

It is desirable that the capacitance Cs of the first capacitance element 9 is larger than the capacitance Cc of the second capacitance element 10. In the present embodiment, random noise can be suppressed by increasing Cs as much as the area allows. Typically, increasing the capacitance of the first capacitive element 9 reduces random noise. However, when the charge signal is converted into a voltage signal in the FD, the signal level becomes small, and as a result, the S / N is not improved. However, according to the present embodiment, since the FD and the RD are separated by the second capacitive element 10, even if the capacitance of the first capacitive element 9 is increased, the signal level is unlikely to decrease. As a result, since only random noise is suppressed, the effect of improving S / N can be obtained.

According to the present embodiment, it is also possible to carry out CDS in order to cancel the variation of the peripheral circuit as in the first embodiment. Specifically, after reading the signal voltage of the FD by the source follower circuit, the above-mentioned reset operation is performed again. After the reset operation is completed and before the photodetector 1 performs the photodetection, the read operation is performed again by the source follower circuit. As a result, the reset voltage VRST can be read out. CDS can be implemented by taking the difference between the signal voltage of the FD and the reset voltage.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the FD signal is read out by the source follower circuit during the exposure period, the amplification factor is about 1 time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the designer may change the amplification factor according to the S / N or the circuit range required for the system.

According to this embodiment, the feedback for noise cancellation is performed in each pixel of the plurality of unit pixel cells 110B. As a result, noise cancellation can be performed at high speed without being affected by the time constant of the read line 7. Further, by increasing the capacity of the capacitance element arranged in the unit pixel cell, a larger noise suppression effect can be obtained.

Hereinafter, a modified example of the configuration and operation of the read circuit 50B according to the present embodiment will be described.

12 to 16 schematically show another example of the circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50B. In the read circuit 50B'shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, one of the source and drain voltages of the first amplification transistor 200 (output voltage of the amplifier 2) is applied to the reset transistor 400 instead of the reference voltage VR2. In that respect, it differs from the readout circuit 50B shown in FIG. The reset transistor 400 negatively feeds back the signal of the photodetector 1 to the FD via the first amplification transistor 200. In the present specification, such a transistor may be referred to as a "negative feedback transistor". With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the change in the voltage of the FD before and after turning off the reset transistor 400, and it is possible to suppress noise at a higher speed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, a constant current source 8 may be provided in the unit pixel cell 110B. According to such a configuration, the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200 can be widened, and as a result, the band of the second band control transistor 301 can also be widened. Therefore, random noise can be suppressed at a higher speed in a state where the band of the second band control transistor 301 is wider.

Finally, another control method of the band control signal line CON3 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 17 is a timing chart showing another example of the operation of the read circuit 50B. As shown in the figure, the taper reset may be applied as in the first embodiment. That is, the band control signal line CON3 may be controlled so that the second band control transistor 301 straddles the threshold voltage and gradually changes from the on state to the off state.

As a result, even if the threshold voltage of the second band control transistor 301 varies among the plurality of unit pixel cells 110B constituting the image pickup apparatus 100, noise generated in all the pixels is effectively suppressed. can do. Further, the change width of the voltage applied to the band control signal line CON3 in the taper reset may be limited to the range of the variation of the threshold voltage of the second band control transistor 301 of each pixel. As a result, the time required for taper reset can be shortened, and noise suppression can be performed at high speed.

(Third embodiment)
The structure, function, and driving method of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 22B. The image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment in that the output selection unit 5C of the readout circuit 50C includes a polyclonal transistor as a selection transistor and is connected to the switching circuit 40. .. Hereinafter, the points different from the second embodiment will be mainly described.

FIG. 18 schematically shows an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110C of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The unit pixel cell 110C includes a photodetector 1 and a readout circuit 50C. The readout circuit 50C includes an amplifier 2, a band control unit 3, an FD, and an output selection unit 5C. The output selection unit 5C is connected to the switching circuit 40 via the signal reading line 7.

The output selection unit 5C is connected to a signal reading line 7 shared by at least two pixels. The output selection unit 5C has a function of outputting the signal amplified by the amplifier 2 to the signal reading line 7 and a function of supplying a current to the amplifier 2. These functions can be switched between each other.

FIG. 19A schematically shows the circuit configuration of the read circuit 50C. The feedback circuit 30 negatively feeds back the signal of the photodetector 1 to the FD via the first amplification transistor 200. One of the source and drain of the third selection transistor 502 is connected to one of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200. The other of the source and drain of the third selection transistor 502 is connected to the signal readout line 7. In the present embodiment, the third selection transistor 502 has a polarity opposite to that of the first amplification transistor 200. The first amplification transistor 200 is an MIMO transistor and the third selection transistor 502 is a polyclonal transistor.

The gate of the third selection transistor 502 is connected to the selection control signal line CON8. The state of the third selection transistor 502 is determined by the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8. For example, when the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8 is low level, the third selection transistor 502 is turned on, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal reading line 7 are electrically connected. When the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8 is at a high level, the third selection transistor 502 is turned off, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal reading line 7 are electrically separated.

When the voltage of the selective control signal line CON8 is between the low level and the high level, for example, an intermediate voltage, the third selective transistor 502 operates as a current source and supplies a current to the first amplification transistor 200. The amount of current is determined by the voltage of the selective control signal line CON8. The designer can design the readout circuit 50C so that the current amount is desired.

The switching circuit 40 is connected to the signal reading line 7. The switching circuit 40 includes a third switch element 13, a fourth switch element 14, voltage sources VB1 and VB2, and a constant current source 6. One terminal of the constant current source 6 is connected to the signal reading line 7 via the third switch element 13. Further, the voltage source VB2 is connected to the signal reading line 7 via the fourth switch element 14. A voltage source VB1 is connected to the other terminal of the constant current source 6.

The control signals V3 and V4 can be used to switch between connecting the voltage source VB2 and connecting the constant current source 6 (voltage source VB1) to the signal reading line 7. For example, the voltage Vb1 of the voltage source VB1 is GND, and the voltage Vb2 of the voltage source VB2 is VDD.

When the voltage source VB2 is connected to the signal readout line 7, if the voltage of the selective control signal line CON8 is between low and high levels, for example an intermediate voltage, then the third selective transistor 502 is the current source. Operate. In that case, the third selection transistor 502 and the first amplifier transistor 200 form an inverting amplifier circuit.

When the constant current source 6 is connected to the signal read line 7, when the voltage of the selective control signal line CON8 is low level, the first amplification transistor 200 and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. do. In that case, the FD signal is output to the signal reading line 7.

In the present embodiment, the transistors constituting the read circuit 50C are OFDM transistors except for the third selection transistor 502, but the polarity may be inverted. That is, the third selection transistor 502 may be an MIMO transistor, and the other transistor may be a polyclonal transistor. Further, all of the transistors in the readout circuit 50C may be an NaCl transistor or a polyclonal transistor.

See FIG. 19B. FIG. 19B shows a modified example of the configuration shown in FIG. 19A described above. In this modification, the switching circuit 40 has constant current sources 6A and 6B. Further, the output selection unit 5C has a fourth selection transistor 503. The polarity of the fourth selection transistor 503 is the same as the polarity of the first amplification transistor 200 and the like. That is, the fourth selection transistor 503 is an MIMO transistor.

The gate of the fourth selection transistor 503 is connected to the selection control signal line CON9. The state of the fourth selection transistor 503 is determined by the voltage of the selection control signal line CON9. For example, when the voltage of the selection control signal line CON9 is at a high level, the fourth selection transistor 503 is turned on, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal reading line 7 are electrically connected. When the voltage of the selection control signal line CON9 is low level, the fourth selection transistor 503 is turned off, and the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal reading line 7 are electrically separated.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 19A, the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8 is set to a voltage between the low level and the high level, for example, an intermediate voltage, so that the third selection transistor 502 is operated as a current source. On the other hand, in this modification, by turning on the fourth switch element 14 and the fourth selection transistor 503, a current is supplied from the constant current source 6B to the first amplification transistor 200.

Next, the operation flow of the read circuit 50C of FIG. 19A will be described with reference to FIG. 20.

FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50C. The horizontal axis of each graph shows time, and the vertical axis is connected to the voltage of the reset control signal CON2, the voltage of the band control signal line CON3, the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8, and the switching circuit 20 in order from the top. , The voltage VS of the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200, respectively.

(Reset period)
At time t21, the voltage of the selective control line CON8 is set between low and high levels.
For example, set it to an intermediate voltage. Further, the switching circuit 40 is controlled so as to connect the voltage source VB2 to the signal reading line 7. Further, the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 is set to a high level, and the second band control transistor 301 is turned on. Further, at time t21, the other of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 is connected to the first voltage source VA1. The voltage Va1 of the first voltage source VA1 is, for example, GND. Further, at time t21, the FD is reset by raising the voltage of the reset control signal line CON2 to a high level and turning on the reset transistor 400. As a result, the voltage of the FD becomes the reference voltage VR2.

At time t22, the voltage of the reset control signal line CON2 is set to a low level, and the reset transistor 400 is turned off. At this time, the read circuit 50C forms a feedback loop with an amplification factor of −A × B. Therefore, the kTC noise of the FD when the reset transistor 400 is turned off is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A × B) times. The voltage of the band control signal line CON3 is set so that the operating band of the second band control transistor 301 becomes the first band which is a wide band. As a result, noise can be suppressed at high speed.

(Noise suppression period)
During the period from time t23 to time t25, the voltage of the band control signal line CON3 is set to a voltage between high level and low level, for example, an intermediate voltage. In that case, the operating band of the second band control transistor 301 is a second band narrower than the first band.

By making the second band sufficiently narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the noise suppression effect becomes large, but the time from t23 to t25 also becomes long. The noise suppression effect can be obtained even if the band is higher than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200. Therefore, the designer can arbitrarily design the second band according to the allowable time from the time t23 to the time t25. Hereinafter, the second band is treated as a band sufficiently narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200.

In a state where the second band is narrower than the operating band of the first amplification transistor 200, the thermal noise generated in the second band control transistor 301 is 1 / (1 + A × B) ^1/2 due to the feedback circuit 30. It is suppressed twice. In this state, when the voltage of the band control line CON3 is set to a low level at time t25 and the second band control transistor 301 is turned off, the kTC noise remaining in the FD portion when the second band control transistor 301 is turned off is the kTC noise caused by the reset transistor 400. , The value is the sum of squares of the kTC noise caused by the second band control transistor 301.

Assuming that the capacitance of the first capacitive element 9 is Cs, the kTC noise of the second band control transistor 301 generated without suppression by feedback becomes the kTC noise of the reset transistor 400 generated without suppression by feedback. Compared to (Cfd / Cs), it is ^1/2 times. In consideration of this point, the kTC noise in the case of feedback is suppressed by {1+ (1 + A × B) × Cfd / Cs} ^1/2 / (1 + A × B) times as compared with the case without feedback. .. Further, at time t25, the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8 is set to a high level, and the third selection transistor 502 is turned off. As a result, the first amplification transistor 200 and the signal readout line 7 are electrically separated.

Note that the taper reset may be applied in the same manner as in the operation flow shown in FIG. 17 of the second embodiment. That is, from time t23 to t24, the band control signal line CON3 may be controlled so that the second band control transistor 301 gradually changes from the on state to the off state across the threshold voltage.

As a result, even if the threshold voltage of the second band control transistor 301 varies among the plurality of unit pixel cells 110C constituting the image pickup apparatus 100, the noise generated in all the pixels is effectively eliminated. It can be suppressed. Further, the change width of the voltage applied to the band control signal line CON3 in the taper reset may be limited to the range of summer variation by the threshold value of the second band control transistor 301 of each pixel. As a result, the time required for taper reset can be shortened, and noise suppression can be performed at high speed.

(Exposure / readout period)
At time t26, the voltage of the selection control signal line CON8 is set to a low level, the third selection transistor 502 is turned on, and the other voltage of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 becomes Va2 (for example, VDD). Controls the switching circuit 20. Further, the switching circuit 40 is controlled so that the constant current source 6 is connected to the signal reading line 7. In this state, the first amplification transistor 200 and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. The signal reading line 7 has a voltage corresponding to the signal charge stored in the FD. At that time, the amplification factor of the source floor circuit is about 1 time.

At time t26, the voltage of the FD changes by the voltage corresponding to the signal charge generated in the photodetector 1 during the period from time t25 to t26 with reference to the reset voltage (VR2). The voltage of the FD is amplified by the amplifier 2 at an amplification factor of about 1 times, and is output to the signal reading line 7.

The kTC noise is {1+ (1 + A × B) × Cfd / Cs} ^1/2 / (1) during the noise suppression period.
It is suppressed to + A × B) times, and is further output to the signal readout line 7 with an amplification factor of about 1 times during the exposure / readout period. This makes it possible to acquire good image data in which random noise is suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, random noise can be suppressed by increasing Cs as much as the area allows. Typically, increasing the capacitance of the first capacitive element 9 reduces random noise. However, since the signal level becomes small when the charge signal is converted into the voltage signal in the FD, the S / N is not improved as a result. However, according to the present embodiment, since the FD and the RD are separated by the second capacitive element 10, even if the capacitance of the first capacitive element 9 is increased, the signal is unlikely to decrease. As a result, since only random noise is suppressed, the effect of improving S / N can be obtained.

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is also possible to carry out CDS in order to cancel the variation in the peripheral circuit, as in the second embodiment. Specifically, after reading the signal voltage of the FD by the source follower circuit, the above-mentioned reset operation is performed again. After the reset operation is completed and before the photodetector 1 performs the photodetection, the read operation is performed again by the source follower circuit. As a result, the reset voltage VRST can be read out. CDS can be implemented by taking the difference between the signal voltage of the FD and the reset voltage.

Further, the feedback for noise cancellation is performed in each pixel of the plurality of unit pixel cells 110C. As a result, noise cancellation can be performed at high speed without being affected by the time constant of the read line 7. Further, by increasing the capacity of the capacitance element arranged in the unit pixel cell 110C, a larger noise suppression effect can be obtained.

Also in this embodiment, since the FD signal is read out by the source follower circuit during the exposure period, the amplification factor is about 1 time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the designer may change the amplification factor according to the S / N or the circuit range required for the system.

Hereinafter, a modified example of the configuration and operation of the read circuit 50C according to the present embodiment will be described.

21A and 22A schematically show other circuit configurations of the readout circuit 50C. The read circuit 50C'shown in FIGS. 21A and 22A applies a voltage of one of the source and drain of the first amplification transistor 200 (output voltage of the amplifier 2) to the reset transistor 400 instead of the reference voltage VR2. There is. In this respect, the readout circuit 50C'shown in FIGS. 21A and 22A is different from the readout circuit 50C shown in FIG. 19A. According to the configurations shown in FIGS. 21A and 22A, the change in the voltage of the FD before and after the reset transistor 400 is turned off can be reduced, so that higher-speed noise suppression becomes possible.

The configuration in which the switching circuit 40 includes the constant current source 6B described with reference to FIG. 19B can also be applied to the configurations shown in FIGS. 21A and 22A. 21B shows a modified example of the configuration shown in FIG. 21A, and FIG. 22B shows a modified example of the configuration shown in FIG. 22A. In each modification, the switching circuit 40 has a constant current source 6B in addition to the constant current source 6A. Further, the output selection unit 5C has a fourth selection transistor 503, which is an µ transistor. The configuration shown in FIGS. 21A and 22A is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 19B, by turning on the fourth switch element 14 and the fourth selection transistor 503, the first amplification transistor from the constant current source 6B. A current can be supplied to 200.

(Fourth Embodiment)
The structure, function, and driving method of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 27. The image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the first to third embodiments in the following points. First, the amplifier 2A in the read circuit 50D has an amplification function and a band control function. Second, the amplifier 2A returns the output to the input, controls the band by itself, applies negative feedback by its own amplification function (amplification rate: -A), and reduces the reset noise by 1 / (1 + A). Suppress to ^1/2 .

FIG. 23 schematically shows an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110D in the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The unit pixel cell 110D includes a photodetector 1 and a readout circuit 50D. The readout circuit 50D includes an amplifier 2A, an FD, and an output selection unit 5B. The output selection unit 5B is connected to the constant current source 6 via the signal readout line 7, and is currently driven by the constant current source 6. The amplifier 2A amplifies the signal corresponding to the charge accumulated in the FD, and performs band control in order to suppress the kTC noise generated in the FD.

The structure and function of the readout circuit 50D will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 24.

FIG. 24 schematically shows an example of the circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50D. The amplifier 2A includes a second amplification transistor 201, and the output selection unit 5B includes a fourth amplification transistor 203 and a second selection transistor 501. Hereinafter, the electrical connection relationship in the readout circuit 50D will be described.

In the second amplification transistor 201, the gate and one of the source and the drain are connected to the FD. The other of the source and drain is connected to the fourth control signal line CON4. The second amplification transistor 201 amplifies the signal voltage according to the signal charge stored in the FD.

An FD is connected to the gate of the fourth amplification transistor 203. One of the source and drain of the fourth amplification transistor 203 is connected to the power supply voltage VDD or the reference voltage. The other of the source and drain of the fourth amplification transistor 203 is connected to one of the source and drain of the second selection transistor 501. The gate of the second selection transistor 501 is connected to the seventh control signal line CON7 that selects the read row. The other of the source and drain of the second selection transistor 501 is connected to the constant current source 6 via the signal readout line 7. In this way, the fourth amplification transistor 203, the second selection transistor 501, and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. Further, the second selection transistor 501 selectively outputs the output of the second amplification transistor 201 to the outside via the read line 7.

The gate of the second amplification transistor 201 and one of the source and drain of the second amplification transistor 201 correspond to the input and the output of the amplifier 2A, respectively. By connecting the output of the amplifier 2A to the input in this way, a feedback loop is formed. In this way, the feedback circuit 30 negatively feeds back the signal of the photodetector 1 to the FD without passing through the fourth amplification transistor 203.

Next, the operation flow of the readout circuit 50D will be described with reference to FIG. 25.

FIG. 25 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50D. The horizontal axis of each graph shows time, and the vertical axis shows the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 and the voltage of the seventh control signal line CON7 in order from the top.

(Reset period)
At time t28, the voltage of the seventh control signal line CON7 is low level and the second selection transistor 501 is off. That is, the signal reading line 7 and the fourth amplification transistor 203 are electrically separated from each other. In this state, the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 is set to the first reference voltage so that the FD becomes a voltage near the desired reset voltage VRST. At this time, the band of the second amplification transistor 201 is set to the third band, which is a wide band. As a result, one of the FD, the gate of the second amplification transistor 201, and the source and drain of the second amplification transistor 201 is set to a desired voltage at high speed. The third band means a band corresponding to the first reference voltage.

The closer the FD voltage is to the reset voltage VRST, the shorter the time required for noise suppression in the end, so that the drive time can be shortened. Therefore, it is desirable to set the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 so that the voltage of the FD becomes a voltage near the reset voltage VRST. However, if there is a margin in the drive time, the set value of the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 is not limited to this.

(Noise suppression period)
From time t29 to t31, the seventh control signal line CON7 remains at low level and the second selection transistor 501 is in the off state. That is, the signal reading line 7 and the fourth amplification transistor 203 remain electrically separated. In this state, the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 is set to the second reference voltage. As a result, the second amplification transistor 201 is gradually changed from on to off. At that time, kTC noise is generated in the second amplification transistor 201. This kTC noise depends on the capacitance Cfd parasitic on the FD to which one of the source and drain of the second amplification transistor 201 is connected. Therefore, this noise is suppressed by using a feedback loop by the second amplification transistor 201.

When the second reference voltage is set to a voltage such that the second amplification transistor 201 suddenly turns from on to off, the band of the generated reset noise becomes wide as about several THz. Therefore, in the feedback loop by the amplifier 2A, it becomes difficult to suppress high frequency noise exceeding the band of the amplifier 2A. Therefore, from time t29 to t31, the second reference voltage is set so that the band of the second amplification transistor 201 becomes the fourth band narrower than the third band. The fourth band means a band corresponding to the second reference voltage. This makes it possible to limit the band of the second amplification transistor 201 to the band of the amplifier 2A formed by its own feedback loop. Further, the reset noise generated in the second amplification transistor 201 can be efficiently suppressed in the entire band.

After the noise is sufficiently suppressed, at time t31, the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 is changed to the fourth reference voltage at which the second amplification transistor 201 is completely turned off. As a result, the feedback loop by the second amplification transistor 201 is cut, and the voltage of the FD is stabilized in a state where noise is suppressed.

The taper reset described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 17 may be applied even during the noise suppression period of the present embodiment. FIG. 26 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50D when the taper reset is applied. As shown in the figure, during the period from time t29 to t30, the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 is set by the second amplification transistor 201 within the range from the second reference voltage to the third reference voltage. It may be gradually changed so as to straddle the value voltage. As a result, the second amplification transistor 201 gradually changes from the on state to the off state. In other words, during the period from time t29 to t30, the voltage of the fourth control signal line CON4 is changed so as to gradually change from the fourth band to the fifth band. The fifth band means a band corresponding to the third reference voltage. The second amplification transistor 201 is gradually changed from on to off while limiting the band of the second amplification transistor 201 to the band of the amplifier 2A formed by its own feedback loop. As a result, noise generated in the FD can be suppressed in the entire band. Here, the fourth band and the fifth band are narrower than the third band. The second reference voltage and the third reference voltage may include a predetermined margin in consideration of manufacturing variations among a plurality of unit pixels.

(Exposure / readout period)
Charges are accumulated in the FD for a desired period in a state where the noise of the FD is sufficiently suppressed and the voltage is stable. Then, at time t32, the second selection transistor 501 is turned on, and the fourth amplification transistor 203 is electrically connected to the signal readout line 7. As a result, the fourth amplification transistor 203 and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. The signal charge accumulated in the FD is amplified by the source follower circuit and output to a peripheral circuit (CDS circuit, A / D circuit, etc.) via the signal readout line 7.

Considering the noise suppression rate and the stability at the time of reading, it is desirable to make the gain of the amplifier 2A as large as possible. For example, it is desirable to set the gain larger than the gain of the amplifier (source follower) in the output selection unit 5B.

According to this embodiment, it is also possible to carry out CDS in order to cancel the variation of the peripheral circuit as in other embodiments. Specifically, at time t32, after reading the signal voltage of the FD by the source follower circuit, the above-mentioned reset operation is performed again. After the reset operation is completed, before the photodetector 1 performs the photodetection, the reset voltage read operation is performed again by the source follower circuit. As a result, the reset voltage VRST can be read out. CDS can be implemented by taking the difference between the signal voltage of the FD and the reset voltage.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the FD signal is read out by the source follower circuit during the exposure period, the amplification factor is about 1 time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the designer may change the amplification factor according to the S / N or the circuit range required for the system.

According to the present embodiment, the feedback for noise cancellation is completed in the unit pixel cell as in the first to third embodiments. Therefore, noise cancellation can be performed at high speed without being affected by the time constant of the read line 7. Further, the amplifier 2A has both an amplification function and a band control function. This makes it possible to reduce the area of the unit pixel cell, that is, to support a narrow pixel cell. This is a notable feature of this embodiment. Even in an image sensor having a narrow pixel area, FD noise can be effectively suppressed without increasing the number of components.

In the present embodiment, the second selection transistor 501 is turned off during the reset period and the noise suppression period, and the fourth amplification transistor 203 is separated from the signal reading line 7. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the signal may be read out at a timing different from the timing described above, for example. In that case, the second selection transistor 501 may be carried out in the ON state. Further, if there is a margin in the drive time, the reset period may be omitted, and only the operation in the noise suppression period and the exposure / readout period may be performed without driving to shorten the convergence time for suppressing the reset noise. I do not care. Further, the signal reading line 7 and / or the constant current source 6 may be provided for each unit pixel cell, or may be shared among a plurality of unit pixel cells.

Hereinafter, a modified example of the configuration and operation of the read circuit 50D according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 27 schematically shows another example of the circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50D. It should be noted in the configuration of this modification that the amplifier 2A includes the third capacitive element 19 and the fourth capacitive element 20 in addition to the third amplification transistor 202. The gate of the third amplification transistor 202 is connected to the FD. One of the source and drain of the third amplification transistor 202 is connected to the sixth control signal line CON6. The other of the source and drain of the third amplification transistor 202 is connected to one end of the third capacitive element 19 and one end of the fourth capacitive element 20. The other end of the third capacitive element 19 is connected to the third reference voltage VR3. The other end of the fourth capacitive element 20 is connected to the FD. Further, a node RD is formed between the third amplification transistor 202, the third capacitive element 19, and the fourth capacitive element 20.

According to the configuration of this modification, the gate of the third amplification transistor 202 and the other end of the fourth capacitive element 20 correspond to the input and the output of the amplifier 2A, respectively. A negative feedback loop is formed by connecting the output to the input. When the amplification factor of the amplifier 2A is multiplied by A, the reset noise generated in the third amplification transistor 202 can be suppressed to 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 .

The first advantage of this modification is that by setting the capacitance C3 of the third capacitance element 19 to be larger than the capacitance Cfd of the FD, the kTC noise generated in the third amplification transistor 202 can be reduced to (kT / C3). ) ^1/2 <(kT / Cfd) ^1/2 , which is a point that can be reduced. The second advantage is that by setting the capacitance C4 of the fourth capacitance element 20 to be smaller than the capacitance of the FD, the partial pressure between the capacitance Cfd of the FD and the capacitance C4 of the fourth capacitance element 20 causes the FD to have a second advantage. The point is that the amount of noise can be attenuated by C4 / (Cfd + C4) times.

The effect obtained by this modification is specifically compared with the effect of the configuration shown in FIG. 24. In the configuration shown in FIG. 24, when the gain of the amplifier 2A is multiplied by A and the gain of the second amplification transistor 201 is multiplied by A', the reset noise of the second amplification transistor 201 is 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 =. It is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A') ^1/2 . On the other hand, in this modification, assuming that the gain of the amplifier 2A is A and the gain of the third amplification transistor 202 is A', the reset noise of the third amplification transistor 202 is 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 = 1 /. [1 + A'× {C4 / (Cfd + C4)
)} × (C3 / Cfd)] It is suppressed to ^1/2 . As described above, the reset noise can be significantly suppressed as compared with the configuration shown in FIG. 24.

With respect to noise suppression, typically, increasing the capacitance C3 of the third capacitive element 19 reduces random noise. However, when the signal charge is converted into a voltage signal by the FD, the signal level becomes small, and as a result, the S / N is not improved. However, according to this modification, since the FD and the RD are separated by the fourth capacitance element 20, the signal level does not decrease even if the capacitance is increased. Therefore, since only random noise is suppressed, S / N is improved.

Next, the reading operation of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to this modification will be described focusing on the difference from the driving method shown in FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

A sixth control signal line CON6 is connected to the amplifier 2A. As a general rule, the same signal as the fourth control signal line CON4 shown in FIG. 25 is input to the sixth control signal line CON6. Instead of the sixth control signal line CON6, a fifth reference voltage may be set as the third reference voltage VR3, and the other voltage of the source and drain of the third amplification transistor 202 may be changed. .. Alternatively, the RD node may be directly controlled. Here, the fifth reference voltage corresponds to the second reference voltage.

Further, as shown in CON4 of FIG. 26, a voltage that gradually changes from an on state to an off state may be input to the sixth control signal line CON6 across the threshold value of the third amplification transistor 202. .. That is, from time t29 to t30, the voltage of the sixth control signal line CON6 may be gradually changed so as to straddle the threshold voltage within the range from the second reference voltage to the third reference voltage. .. Alternatively, from time t29 to t30, a voltage that changes from the fifth reference voltage to the sixth reference voltage is set as the third reference voltage VR3 instead of the sixth control signal line CON6, and the third amplification transistor is used. The voltage of the other of the source and drain of 202 may be changed. Alternatively, the RD node may be directly controlled. Here, the sixth reference voltage corresponds to the third reference voltage.

According to this modification, the noise suppression rate can be significantly improved as compared with the configuration shown in FIG. 24 due to the effect of the third capacitive element 19 and the fourth capacitive element 20.

By arranging the two capacitances, the noise suppression effect becomes large. However, the arrangement area is also large. Since the suppression effect changes depending on the presence or absence of the capacitive element and the absolute value of the capacitance, the designer can select and design an arbitrary configuration and value.

(Fifth Embodiment)
The structure, function, and driving method of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 28 to 34. The image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment in that the switch unit 4B is added to the readout circuit 50D according to the fourth embodiment. Hereinafter, the points different from the fourth embodiment will be mainly described.

28 and 29 schematically show an exemplary circuit configuration of the unit pixel cell 110E in the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The unit pixel cell 110E includes a photodetector 1 and a readout circuit 50E. The readout circuit 50E includes an amplifier 2B, an FD, a switch unit 4B, and an output selection unit 5B.

The structure and function of the readout circuit 50E will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 30.

FIG. 30 schematically shows an example of the circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50E. The switch unit 4B includes a switch transistor 401. A fifth control signal line CON5 is connected to the gate of the switch transistor 401. An FD is connected to one of the source and drain of the switch transistor 401. A fourth reference voltage VR4 is connected to the other of the source and drain of the switch transistor 401. A sixth control signal CON6 is connected to one of the source and drain of the third amplification transistor 202.

Next, the operation flow of the readout circuit 50E will be described with reference to FIG. 31.

FIG. 31 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50E. The horizontal axis of each graph shows time, and the vertical axis shows the voltage of the fifth control signal line CON5, the voltage of the sixth control signal line CON6, and the voltage of the seventh control signal line CON7 in order from the top. Shows.

(Reset period)
At time t28, the voltage of the fifth control signal line CON5 is set to a high level, and the switch transistor 401 is turned on. At this time, the fourth reference voltage VR4 and the FD are connected. Further, at time t28, the voltage of the seventh control signal line CON7 is at a low level, and the selection transistor 501 is in the off state. That is, the fourth amplification transistor 203 is electrically separated from the signal reading line 7. In this state, the sixth control signal CON6 is set to the first reference voltage so that the FD has a voltage near the desired reset voltage VRST (= VR4). At this time, by setting the band of the third amplification transistor 202 to the third band which is a wide band, the FD, the gate of the third amplification transistor 202, and the other of the source and drain of the third amplification transistor 202 can be set. , Is set to the desired voltage at high speed.

The closer the FD voltage is to the reset voltage VRST, the shorter the time required for noise suppression in the end, so that the drive time can be shortened. Therefore, it is desirable to apply a voltage to the sixth control signal line CON6 so that the voltage of the FD becomes a voltage near the reset voltage VRST. However, if there is a margin in the driving time, the set value of the voltage is not limited to that.

At time t29, the voltage of the fifth control signal line CON5 is set to a low level, the switch transistor 401 is turned off, and the fourth reference voltage VR4 and the FD are disconnected.

(Noise suppression period)
With the switch transistor 401 turned off and the fourth reference voltage VR4 and FD disconnected, a noise suppression operation and a signal level or reset level read operation are performed.

During the period from time t29 to t31, the seventh control signal line CON7 remains at low level and the second selection transistor 501 is turned off. That is, the signal reading line 7 and the fourth amplification transistor 203 remain electrically separated. In this state, the voltage of the sixth control signal line CON6 is set to the second reference voltage. As a result, the third amplification transistor 202 is gradually changed from on to off.

In the period from time t29 to t31, the second reference voltage is set so that the band of the third amplification transistor 202 becomes the fourth band narrower than the third band. This makes it possible to limit the band of the third amplification transistor 202 to the band of the amplifier 2B formed by its own feedback loop. Further, the reset noise generated in the third amplification transistor 202 can be efficiently suppressed in the entire band.

After the noise is sufficiently suppressed, at time t31, the voltage of the sixth control signal line CON6 is changed to the fourth reference voltage at which the third amplification transistor 202 is completely turned off. As a result, the feedback loop by the third amplification transistor 202 is cut, and the voltage of the FD is stabilized in a state where noise is suppressed.

The taper reset described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 17 may be applied even during the noise suppression period of the present embodiment. FIG. 32 is a timing chart showing an example of the operation of the read circuit 50E when the taper reset is applied. As shown in FIG. 32, during the period from time t29 to t30, the voltage of the sixth control signal line CON6 is set by the third amplification transistor 202 within the range from the second reference voltage to the third reference voltage. It may be gradually changed so as to straddle the threshold voltage. The third amplification transistor 202 gradually changes from an on state to an off state. As a result, noise generated in the FD can be suppressed in the entire band.

(Exposure / readout period)
The signal charge is accumulated in the FD for a desired period in a state where the noise of the FD is sufficiently suppressed and the voltage is stable. Then, at time t32, the second selection transistor 501 is turned on, and the fourth amplification transistor 203 is electrically connected to the signal readout line 7. As a result, the fourth amplification transistor 203 and the constant current source 6 form a source follower circuit. The signal charge accumulated in the FD is amplified by the source follower circuit and output to a peripheral circuit (CDS circuit, A / D circuit, etc.) via the signal readout line 7.

According to this embodiment, by controlling the switch transistor 401, it becomes easy to set the FD to a desired reset voltage VRST at high speed.

In the fourth embodiment, the gain of the amplifier 2A is set to −A times, and the reset noise generated in the second amplification transistor 201 or the third amplification transistor 202 is fed back while limiting the band. As a result, the reset noise is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 times.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the feedback is applied after the switch transistor 401 is turned off, the reset noise generated in the switch transistor 401 can be significantly suppressed to 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 . Further, the reset noise generated in the third amplification transistor 202 is suppressed to 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 by feeding back while applying the band limitation. Further, as in the modification of the fourth embodiment, by setting the capacitance C3 of the third capacitance element 19 to be larger than the capacitance Cfd of the FD, the kTC noise generated in the third amplification transistor 202 can be reduced to (1). It can be as small as kT / C3) ^1/2 <(kT / Cfd) ^1/2 . Further, by setting the fourth capacitance element 20 to be smaller than the capacitance Cfd of the FD, the noise amount in the FD is C4 / (by dividing the pressure between the capacitance Cfd of the FD and the capacitance C4 of the fourth capacitance element 20. It can be attenuated by Cfd + C4) times.

The effects obtained by this embodiment will be specifically compared with the effects obtained by the configurations shown in FIGS. 24 and 27 of the fourth embodiment. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 24, when the gain of the amplifier 2A is multiplied by A and the gain of the second amplification transistor 201 is multiplied by A', the reset noise of the second amplification transistor 201 is 1 / (1 + A) ^{1 /.} It is suppressed to ² = 1 / (1 + A') ^1/2 . On the other hand, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 27, assuming that the gain of the amplifier 2A is A and the gain of the third amplification transistor 202 is A', the reset noise of the third amplification transistor 202 is 1 / (1 + A) ¹ . ^{/ 2} = 1 / [1 + A'× {C4 / (Cfd + C4)} × (C3 / Cfd)
)] It is suppressed to ^1/2 . As described above, the reset noise can be suppressed as compared with the configuration shown in FIG. 24.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, when the gain of the amplifier 2B is multiplied by A and the gain of the third amplification transistor 202 is multiplied by A', the reset noise of the switch transistor 401 is 1 / (1 + A) = 1 / [1 + A'. × {C4 / (Cfd + C4)}] is suppressed. The reset noise of the third amplification transistor 202 is 1 / (1 + A) ^1/2 = 1 / [1 + A'× {C.
4 / (Cfd + C4)} × (C3 / Cfd)] ^1/2 . Since the total noise is obtained from these square roots of the sum of squares, the reset noise can be significantly suppressed as compared with the fourth embodiment.

According to the present embodiment, the reset noise can be significantly suppressed as compared with the fourth embodiment due to the effect of the third capacitive element 19 and the fourth capacitive element 20. Further, by providing the switch unit 4B, it becomes easy to perform reset and noise suppression at high speed.

As described above, by providing the third capacitance element 19, the fourth capacitance element 20, and the switch unit 4B, a large noise suppression effect can be obtained. However, the arrangement area is also large. Since the noise suppression effect depends on the presence / absence of the capacitive element and the absolute value of the capacitance, the designer can select and design an arbitrary configuration and the absolute value of the capacitance.

Hereinafter, a modification of the readout circuit 50E according to the present embodiment will be described.

33 and 34 schematically show another exemplary circuit configuration of the readout circuit 50E. As shown in FIG. 33, one of the source and drain of the switch transistor 401 may be connected to the FD, and the other of the source and drain of the switch transistor 401 may be connected to the sixth control signal line CON6. With this configuration, resetting can be performed without applying the fourth reference voltage VR4, and the same effect as the configuration shown in FIG. 30 can be obtained.

Further, as another modification of the switch unit 4B, as shown in FIG. 34, one of the source and drain of the switch transistor 401 is connected to the FD, and the other of the source and drain is the third capacitive element 19 and the third capacitive element 19. It may be connected to the connection point (RD) with the fourth capacitive element 20. With this configuration, resetting can be performed without applying the fourth reference voltage VR4, and the same effect as the configuration shown in FIG. 30 can be obtained. According to this configuration, in particular, the gate of the third amplification transistor 202 and the other of the source and drain of the third amplification transistor 202 can be set to the same voltage, so that the noise cancellation time is shortened. It becomes possible.

In the first to fifth embodiments, the operation of the feedback circuit 30 or 30'by negative feedback has been described, but the feedback is not limited to this. You can also add positive feedback to your feedback. For example, the noise may be suppressed by applying negative feedback after applying positive feedback, or the noise may be suppressed in the reverse order. Further, noise may be suppressed while applying positive feedback and negative feedback at the same time. By using positive feedback together in this way, it is expected that noise suppression will be further speeded up and made more efficient.

(Sixth Embodiment)
The camera system 600 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 35.

FIG. 35 schematically shows a configuration example of the camera system 600 according to the present embodiment. The camera system 600 includes a lens optical system 601, an image pickup device 602, a system controller 603, and a camera signal processing unit 604.

The lens optical system 601 includes, for example, an autofocus lens, a zoom lens, and an aperture. The lens optical system 601 collects light on the image pickup surface of the image pickup apparatus 100. As the image pickup device 602, the image pickup device according to the first to fifth embodiments described above can be widely used.

The system controller 603 controls the entire camera system 600. The system controller 603 can be realized, for example, by a microcomputer.

The camera signal processing unit 604 functions as a signal processing circuit that processes an output signal from the image pickup apparatus 100. The camera signal processing unit 604 performs processing such as gamma correction, color interpolation processing, spatial interpolation processing, and auto white balance. The camera signal processing unit 604 can be realized by, for example, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or the like.

According to the camera system according to the present embodiment, the reset noise (kTC noise) at the time of reading can be appropriately suppressed by using the image pickup apparatus according to the first to fifth embodiments. As a result, the electric charge can be accurately read out and a good image can be obtained.

The image pickup apparatus according to the present disclosure can be applied to various camera systems and sensor systems such as digital still cameras, medical cameras, surveillance cameras, in-vehicle cameras, digital single-lens reflex cameras, and digital mirrorless single-lens cameras.

1 Optical detector 1A Organic photoelectric film 1B Transistor 2, 2A, 2B Amplifier 3, 3'Band control unit 3A, 3B Band control circuit 4A Reset circuit 4B Switch unit 5, 5B, 5C Output selection unit 6, 8, 144 Current source 7 Signal readout line 9 First capacitive element 10 Second capacitive element 11 First switch element 12 Second switch element 13 Third switch element 14 Fourth switch element 20, 40 Switching circuit 30, 30 'Feedback circuit 50A, 50B, 50B', 50C, 50C', 50D, 50E Read circuit 100 Imaging device 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D, 110E Unit pixel cell 120 Power supply wiring 130 Storage control line 141 Vertical scanning circuit 142 Column signal processing Circuit 143 Horizontal signal readout circuit 170 Vertical signal line 180 Horizontal signal common line 200 First amplification transistor 201 Second amplification transistor 202 Third amplification transistor 203 Fourth amplification transistor 300 First band control transistor 301 Second Band control transistor 400 Reset transistor 401 Switch transistor 500 First selection transistor 501 Second selection transistor 502 Third selection transistor 503 Fourth selection transistor 600 Camera system 601 Lens optical system 602 Solid-state imager 603 System controller 604 Signal processing Part CON1, CON3 Band control signal line CON2 Reset control signal line CON4 4th control signal line CON5 5th control signal line CON6 6th control signal line CON7 7th control signal line CON8, CON9 selection control signal line FD charge Storage unit RD In-pixel node Vp Reference voltage / control voltage VR1, VR2, VR3, VR4 Reference voltage / control voltage source VA1, VA2, VB1, VB2 Reference voltage / control voltage source V1, V2, V3, V4 Control signal

Claims (5)

A photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric signal,
A first transistor having a gate electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and amplifying the electric signal,
A second transistor in which one of the source and drain is electrically connected to one of the source and drain of the first transistor,
With a third transistor, one of the source and drain is electrically connected to the other of the source and drain of the second transistor, and the other of the source and drain is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit.
A first capacitance having a first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal being electrically connected to the other of the source and drain of the second transistor, and a first voltage being applied to the second terminal. With the element
It has a third terminal and a fourth terminal, the third terminal is electrically connected to the other of the source and drain of the second transistor, and the fourth terminal is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit. 2nd capacitance element and
An image pickup device. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the capacitance value of the first capacitance element is larger than the capacitance value of the second capacitance element. A photoelectric conversion unit that photoelectrically converts incident light to generate an electric signal,
A first transistor having a gate electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit and amplifying the electric signal,
A second transistor in which one of the source and drain is electrically connected to one of the source and drain of the first transistor,
With a third transistor, one of the source and drain is electrically connected to the other of the source and drain of the second transistor, and the other of the source and drain is electrically connected to the photoelectric conversion unit.
A first capacitance having a first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal being electrically connected to the other of the source and drain of the second transistor, and a first voltage being applied to the second terminal. With the element
Equipped with
The capacitance value of the first capacitive element is between the first node between the second transistor and the third transistor and the second node between the third transistor and the photoelectric conversion unit. An imager, which is larger than the capacity value of the capacity of. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a constant current source electrically connected to one of the source and drain of the first transistor. The image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a voltage switching circuit electrically connected to the other of the source and drain of the first transistor and switching and supplying at least two voltages.

Images