Imaging apparatus, signal processing apparatus, and moving body

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10491844-B2
Application number	US-201815973914-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 8, 2018
Priority date	May 31, 2017
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

A pixel includes a first electrode, a second electrode facing to the first electrode in a first direction, and a third electrode disposed between the first and second electrodes. A photoelectric conversion layer is disposed on the electrodes. Signals for phase difference detection are read from the first and second electrodes. Furthermore, a signal for imaging is read from the third electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus including a plurality of pixels arranged on a substrate comprising:
a first pixel group; and
a second pixel group,
wherein at least one of the pixels included in a first pixel group includes:
a first electrode;
a second electrode facing to the first electrode in a first direction;
a third electrode disposed between the first and second electrodes;
a photoelectric conversion layer disposed on the first, second, and third electrodes;
a counter electrode disposed on the photoelectric conversion layer; and
a micro-lens corresponding to the first, second, and third electrodes,

wherein signals for phase difference detection are read from the first and second electrodes,
wherein at least one of pixels included in the second pixel group includes
a fifth electrode,
the photoelectric conversion layer disposed on the fifth electrode, and
the counter electrode disposed on the photoelectric conversion layer, and
wherein an area of the fifth electrode is greater than areas of the first, second, and third electrodes in a planar view.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a fourth electrode is disposed between the third electrode and the second electrode and the signals for imaging are read from the third and fourth electrodes.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein lengths of the first, second, and third electrodes are substantially the same in a second direction.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a length of the third electrode is longer than lengths of the first and second electrodes in the first direction.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising:
a first output line to which a signal from the first electrode is output;
a second output line to which a signal from the second electrode is output; and
a third output line to which a signal from the third electrode is output;
wherein an amplification rate of a column amplifier arranged so as to correspond to the first output line or the second output line is larger than an amplification rate of a column amplifier arranged so as to correspond to the third output line.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein each of the pixels included in the first pixel group has a first color filter,
wherein at least one of the pixels included in the second pixel group has a second color filter, and
wherein a transmittance of the first color filter is higher than a transmittance of the second color filter.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pixels included in the second pixel group has the first color filter.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a length of the fifth electrode is longer than a length of the third electrode in the first direction.

9. The apparatus according to claim 6 ,
wherein at least one of the pixels included in the second pixel group includes
a sixth electrode, and
a seventh electrode facing to the sixth electrode in the first direction, and

wherein the fifth electrode is disposed between the sixth electrode and the seventh electrode and the signals for imaging is read from the sixth and seventh electrodes.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the signals for phase difference detection are read from the sixth and seventh electrodes.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pixels included in the first pixel group are shifted from the pixels included in the second pixel group by a half pitch.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first pixel group has first and third pixel rows,
wherein the second pixel group has second and fourth pixel rows,
wherein the first, second, third, and fourth pixel rows are arranged in this order, and
wherein pixels included in the first pixel row and pixels included in the second pixel row are shifted from pixels included in the third pixel row and pixels included in the fourth pixel row by a half pitch.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an area of the third electrode is larger than an area of the first electrode and an area of the second electrode.

14. A signal processing apparatus which processes a signal output from the apparatus according to claim 6 , the signal processing apparatus comprising:
a luminance information obtaining unit configured to obtain luminance information of a pixel having the second color filter from a signal obtained from a pixel having the first color filter; and
a color information obtaining unit configured to obtain color information of the pixel having the first color filter from a signal obtained from the pixel having the second color filter.

15. A signal processing apparatus which processes a signal output from the apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein distance information is obtained from the signal for phase difference detection.

16. A moving body, comprising:
the apparatus according to claim 1 ;
a distance information obtaining unit configured to obtain information on a distance to a target object in accordance with parallax information based on a signal supplied from the apparatus; and
a control unit configured to control the moving body based on the distance information.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a signal that is read from the third electrode is used for imaging.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the signal that is read from the third electrode is not used for phase difference detection.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a signal that is read from the fifth electrode is used for imaging.

20. The apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein each of the pixels included in the first pixel group has a white filter, and
wherein at least one of the pixels included in the second pixel group has one color filter selected from among red, green, and blue filters.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Takahashi Hidekazu
• Kuroda Yukihiro
• Goden Tatsuhito
• Takagi Akinari

Classifications

• H04N25/704 Primary

  Pixels specially adapted for focusing, e.g. phase difference pixel sets · CPC title

• H04N25/771

  comprising storage means other than floating diffusion · CPC title

• H04N23/672

  based on the phase difference signals · CPC title

• H04N25/133

  including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light · CPC title

• H04N25/70 Primary

  SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith · CPC title