JPH01238384A - Solid-state image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent occurrence of cross talks and at the same time, to alleviate the limitation in the circuit design by providing light shielding areas among line sensors arrayed in parallel with each other and making the length of the light shielding area in the line sensor arraying direction an integral multiple or a half integral multiple as long as the length of the photoreceptor section of each line sensor. CONSTITUTION:Line sensors 1-3 have the same shape and the width of each sensor in their arrayed direction (longitudinal direction) is set to L. The line sensors 1-3 are respectively provided with photoreceptor sections and the other areas 4-6 are shielded for light by means of light shielding films. The longitudinal width D1 of the light shielding area 5 between the line sensors 1 and 2 and longitudinal width D2 of the light shielding area 6 between the line sensors 2 and 3 are respectively set to D1=2L and D2=L. Moreover, the driving circuit system for driving the line sensor 1 is formed in the light shielding area 4 and the signal of the sensor 1 is outputted from a terminal 10 through an output amplifier 7. Similarly, the driving circuit systems for sensors 2 and 3 are respectively formed in the light shielding areas 5 and 6 and outputs of the sensors 2 and 3 are respectively outputted from output amplifiers 8 and 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of line sensors are arranged in parallel.

[Prior Art] FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a light receiving section and a light shielding section of a conventional solid-state imaging device.

Here, three rows of line sensors 101 to 103 are provided adjacently, and a light receiving part is formed only in the sensor part.
Other areas are shielded from light.

Each line sensor is driven by a drive unit 104, and each read sensor signal is sequentially outputted through an output amplifier 105.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above conventional example, the line sensor 101-
103 are provided adjacent to each other, there is a first-order problem.

First, because it is difficult to prevent signal leakage between line sensors,
So-called crosstalk is likely to occur.

Further, since a circuit system cannot be provided between the line sensors, design is restricted, and complete independent control of multiple rows of line sensors becomes difficult.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve item 1 above, a solid-state imaging device according to the present invention includes a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of line sensors are arranged in parallel, in which light is shielded between the in-sensors as described in 11;j. A region is provided, and the length of the light shielding region in the arrangement direction of the line sensor is an integral multiple of the length of the line sensor light receiving section, or '+=integer i8.
It is characterized by

[Effect] With this configuration, crosstalk can be prevented,
Also, restrictions on circuit design are relaxed. Therefore, high S.N.
Since it is possible to obtain a sensor signal with a high ratio, and a circuit system can be provided in a light-shielding region, the types of operation modes of the imaging device can be expanded.

Furthermore, since the line sensor spacing is an integer multiple or half an integer of the length of the sensor light receiving section, it can be applied to image scanning in which scanning is performed at the array pitch of the line sensors.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a light receiving section and a light shielding section of a first embodiment of a solid-state imaging device according to the present invention.

In the figure, line sensors 1 to 3 have the same shape and shape, and their width in the arrangement direction (hereinafter referred to as "vertical direction") is L.

Line sensors 1 to 3 are provided with light receiving sections, and other areas 4 to 6 are shielded from light by light shielding films. Among them, the vertical width of the light-shielding region 5 between the line sensors 1 and 2 is Dl, and the vertical width of the light-shielding region 6 between the line sensors 2 and 3 is D2. In this example, Dl = 2L
, D2 =L.

Further, a drive circuit system for the line sensor 1 is formed in the light shielding area 4, and the sensor (IT) is outputted from the terminal 10 through the output amplifier 7.Similarly, the drive circuit system for the line sensor 2 is formed in the light shielding area 5. , a line sensor 3 is installed in the light-shielding area 6.
drive circuit systems are formed, and sensor signals are output from output amplifiers 8 and 9, respectively.

FIG. 2 (^) is a partial circuit diagram showing a sensor cell of one line sensor and one unit of its drive system in this embodiment, and FIG. 2 (Bl is a timing chart for explaining its operation) .

In this embodiment, a base accumulation type sensor is used as an example. That is, in FIG. 2A, carriers are accumulated by photoexcitation in the base region of the bipolar transistor BTr, and the accumulated voltage is read out from the emitter of the transistor BTr.

A reset voltage Va is applied to the base region of the transistor BTr via a reset transistor Qrh. A reset pulse φr is applied to the gate electrode of the transistor Qrh.
h is done manually.

The emitter electrode of transistor B'rr is transistor Q
A constant voltage vb is applied through the transistor Qr
A pulse φ' is applied to the gate electrode of the transistor Q.Furthermore, the emitter electrode is connected to the storage capacitor C and the base of the transistor Q via the transfer transistor QL.

A transfer pulse φL is input to the gate electrode of the transistor Q.

The emitter of the transistor Q is connected to an output line 22 via a transistor Qs, and the output line 22 is grounded via a reset transistor Qc and is also connected to an input terminal r- of an output amplifier 7.

A shift register 21 is connected to the gate electrode of the transistor Qs.
A scanning pulse is applied to the gate electrode of the reset transistor Qc, and a reset pulse φC is applied to the gate electrode of the reset transistor Qc.

Next, the operation of the circuit system having the configuration described above will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, carriers are transferred to the transistor [3Tr
It is assumed that the accumulated voltage is accumulated in the base region of , and the accumulated voltage is read out to the emitter side as a sensor signal.

In this state, when the transfer pulse φ is raised to turn on the transfer transistor Q, the sensor signal is transferred to the capacitor Ct.
(read).

In this state, scanning pulses are sequentially output from the shift register 21 to perform horizontal scanning. That is, when a scanning pulse is applied to the gate electrode of the transistor Qs, the transistor Qs is turned on, and the sensor signal amplified from the emitter of the transistor Q is read out to the output line 22 and sent out from the terminal 10 through the output amplifier 7 to the outside. (Water (toshudai)).

Subsequently, the reset pulse φrh decreases to γ, and the transistor Qrh turns on. As a result, the gear which had been integrated into the base of the transistor BT disappears,
The base has a constant voltage (■-V a
(Base Reset).

Subsequently, pulses φt and φr rise]], transistors Ql and Qr turn on, and capacitor C
The signal is cleared, and the base of the transistor 13T is refreshed by the transistor operation (refresh).

When the refresh ends -r, the transistor BTr starts its space operation.

Note that it is appropriate that the voltage (2) b be approximately 1 (2) considering the built-in bodential between the base and emitter of the transistor Q, and similarly the voltage (Va) to be approximately 2V.

Also, in this circuit diagram, the light receiving section is a transistor n'
rr, especially its base and base-collector junction, and other circuitry is a light-shielded area.

Next, the operation when this embodiment is used as an image scanner will be explained with reference to FIG.

In an image scanner, an image of a subject is formed on a line sensor by an optical system (not shown), and the image is sequentially moved in bits as wide as the line sensor by a drive mechanism (not shown). Here, the direction of relative movement of the image is set to the direction of the drawing, and sensor signals from line sensors 1 to 3 are outputted from terminals 10 to 12 for each step of movement. Further, it is designed so that Dl = 2L and D2 = L.

First, the part of the line sensor lJ: of the image of the subject (
Hereinafter, this will be referred to as image formation S1. ) is read by line sensor l. This same image S1 is moved three steps and read by the line sensor 2, and then moved two steps further and read by the line sensor 3.

Therefore, 1, for example, each line sensor 1~:S has a red 1
(, green G and 1'?B filters are provided, and the end 7
If a memory for output signals for 5 strokes is connected to -10 and a memory for output signals for 2 lines is connected to end r11, the image formation S!
It is possible to obtain the It G +3 force error signal. That is, by sequentially moving the image of the object at a pitch of 1- sensor width, it is possible to obtain a color signal of the entire image of the object.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a light receiving section and a light shielding section according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the width D3 of the light shielding part 5 between line sensors 1 and 2, and the width 1 of the light shielding part 6 between line sensors 2 and 3.
) 4 is set to an integer multiple or a half-integer multiple of L, and here I) 3 = 1.51-, D4 = 2 L.

The operation of this embodiment as an image scanner is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, except that the movement bit of the object image is 14/2. Movement pitch is L/2
Therefore, the vertical resolution is 2 compared to the first embodiment.
It will be doubled.

Next, an example of an image reading device to which the present invention is applied will be shown.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of an image reading device.

In the figure, a document 501 is mechanically moved in the direction of arrow Y relative to a reading section 505.

Further, one image is read by scanning in the direction of arrow X using the image sensor 504.

First, light from the light source 502 is reflected by the original 501, and the reflected light passes through the imaging optical system 503 to the image sensor 501.
Form an image on 4hi. As a result, the image sensor 5
Carriers corresponding to the intensity of the incident light are accumulated in 04,
It is photoelectrically converted and output as image No. 43.

This image No. 43 is digitally converted by an AI converter 506 and taken into a memory in an image processing unit 507 as image data. Then, processing such as shading complement 11 color compensation is performed, and the data is sent to a personal computer 508, a printer, or the like.

When the image signal transfer for scanning in the X direction is completed, the original 501 is moved relatively in the Y direction, and by repeating the same operation, the previous image of the original 501 is converted to electrical No. 53 and taken out as image information. be able to.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, it produces the effects described below.

Since a light shielding area is formed between the line sensors, crosstalk can be prevented and restrictions on circuit design can be relaxed. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a sensor signal with a high SN ratio, and since a circuit system can be provided in the light-shielding region, the types of operation modes of the imaging device can be expanded.

Furthermore, since the line sensor interval is an integral multiple or a half-integer multiple of the length of the sensor light receiving section, it is possible to apply the present invention to an image scanner that scans at the array pitch of the line sensors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the structure of a light receiving section and a light shielding section of a first embodiment of a solid-state imaging device according to the present invention. FIG. 2(A) is a partial circuit diagram showing a sensor cell of one line sensor and one unit of its drive system in this embodiment, and FIG. 2(A) is a timing chart for explaining its operation. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a light receiving section and a light shielding section according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a light receiving section and a light shielding section of a conventional solid-state imaging device. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a single image reading device. 1.2%3... Line sensor 4.5.6... Light shielding area Figure 1 Figure 2 (A)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a solid-state imaging device in which a plurality of line sensors are arranged in parallel, a light-shielding region is provided between the line sensors, and the length of the light-shielding region in the arrangement direction of the line sensors is equal to the length of the line sensor light receiving part. A solid-state imaging device characterized by being a half-integer multiple. (2) The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the length of the light shielding region in the arrangement direction of the line sensor is an integral multiple of the length of the line sensor light receiving section.