Solid-state imaging device and imaging device capable of correcting pixel signal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10742906-B2
Application number	US-201816059517-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2018
Priority date	Feb 15, 2016
Publication date	Aug 11, 2020
Grant date	Aug 11, 2020

Abstract

A solid-state imaging device includes: a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in rows and columns; a plurality of column signal lines which are provided in one-to-one correspondence with pixel columns; a column processor including a plurality of column AD circuits provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of column signal lines; a power supply variation detector which is connected to a power supply wire through which a power supply voltage is transmitted to each of the pixels, and which detects, in correspondence with pixel rows, power supply variation components attributed to variations in the power supply voltage; and a power supply variation corrector which corrects, for each of the pixel rows, a pixel signal detected by the column processor, using the power supply variation components detected by the power supply variation detector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising:
pixels each of which generates a pixel signal;
a first detector which detects the pixel signal;
a power supply wire which applies a power supply voltage to the pixels;
a second detector which detects power supply variation components in correspondence with pixel rows in each of which more than one of the pixels are arranged in a row;
a column signal line which supplies the power supply variation components to the second detector; and
a corrector which corrects, for each of the pixel rows, the pixel signal detected by the first detector, using the power supply variation components,
wherein the column signal line is directly connected to the power supply wire, and
wherein the corrector includes:
an averaging circuit which calculates a power supply variation average signal by averaging the power supply variation components;
an attenuating circuit which attenuates the power supply variation average signal supplied from the averaging circuit using a predetermined attenuation value corresponding to the pixel signal; and
a subtracting circuit which corrects the pixel signal by subtracting, from the pixel signal, the power supply variation average signal supplied from the attenuating circuit and attenuated using the predetermined attenuation value.

2. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the power supply variation components are attributed to variations in the power supply voltage.

3. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second detector includes a power supply variation sensor which detects the power supply variation components in correspondence with the pixel rows.

4. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller which causes a detection signal of the power supply variation components to be output to the corrector before the pixel signal detected by the first detector.

5. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 4 ,
wherein the first detector detects the pixel signal through correlated double sampling, and
the second detector detects the power supply variation components through the correlated double sampling at a same timing as a timing of detecting the pixel signal by the first detector.

6. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the corrector holds the power supply variation average signal for a corresponding one of the pixel rows until the pixel signal in each of the pixel rows is output from the first detector, and
the subtracting circuit corrects the pixel signal by subtracting, from the pixel signal detected in each of the pixel rows, the power supply variation average signal attenuated using the predetermined attenuation value.

7. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 ,
wherein each pixel includes:
a light receiver which performs photoelectric conversion corresponding to incident light;
a charge accumulator in which charges generated through the photoelectric conversion by the light receiver are accumulated and retained; and
an amplifier which amplifies a voltage corresponding to the charges retained in the charge accumulator and outputs the voltage that has been amplified as the pixel signal,
wherein the predetermined attenuation value corresponds to a pixel gain defined by the charge accumulator and the amplifier.

8. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 7 ,
wherein each pixel further includes
a switching element which switches between connection and disconnection between an additional capacitor and the charge accumulator, and
the solid-state imaging device links switching of the switching element and switching of the predetermined attenuation value.

9. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a first analog-to-digital (AD) conversion circuit which converts the pixel signal transmitted in a column into a digital signal, and detects the pixel signal through correlated double sampling,
wherein the power supply variation sensor is a second AD conversion circuit which converts the power supply variation components into a digital signal, and detects the power supply variation components through the correlated double sampling.

10. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 9 , further comprising:
a reference signal generator which generates a ramp signal for digital conversion in the first AD conversion circuit and the second AD conversion circuit,
wherein when the power supply variation components detected by the second detector are a negative signal, the reference signal generator outputs the ramp signal that has been offset.

11. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pixels, the first detector, and the second detector are included in a same large-scale integration (LSI) chip, and
the corrector is externally connected to the LSI chip.

12. An imaging device comprising:
the solid-state imaging device according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd
• Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ikuma Makoto
• Muroshima Takahiro
• Kito Takayasu
• Amikawa Hiroyuki
• Abe Tetsuya

Classifications

• H03M1/0845 Primary

  of power supply variations, e.g. ripple · CPC title

• H04N25/709

  Circuitry for control of the power supply · CPC title

• H04N25/44 Primary

  by partially reading an SSIS array · CPC title

• H04N25/77

  Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components · CPC title

• H04N25/78

  Readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters · CPC title