Abstract: The invention provides a method for driving a CCD area image sensor. An interline transfer type CCD area image sensor includes a plurality of photo sensors arranged in a plurality of lines. A plurality of vertical shift registers are disposed along one of the lines of photo sensors. A horizontal shift register is formed to receive charges from the vertical shift registers. An output circuit converts the charges transferred through the horizontal shift resistor into electrical signals. The driving method includes the steps of accumulating charges in the photo sensors, transferring charges accumulated in all of the photo sensors to the vertical shift registers, and shifting the transferred charges to the horizontal shift register via the vertical shift registers. The start of charge-shiftings is initiated from the charges in the order of the distances between the transferred position and the photo sensors and the horizontal shift register.

Abstract: A buried channel CCD is described wherein buried CCD elements are formed on a semiconductor substrate of P-type material and formed in a semiconductor area of N-type material. Transfer electrodes are provided to which a driving pulse is applied. The driving pulse is a three-level pulse having, at different time points, first, second and third levels, during at least one part of a time period in a charge transfer period and a charge integration period, the first or second level of the three-level pulse is applied to selected transfer electrodes so that part of signal charges in the buried channel are drained through the semiconductor area into the semiconductor substrate; and in the charge transfer period, the second and third levels are alternately applied to the transfer electrodes.

Abstract: A semiconductor device has an active region formed on a semiconductor substrate. The opposite sides of the active region are defined by channel stoppers. The semiconductor device is made by a manufacturing process which prevents the active region from narrowing responsive a spreading of the channel stopper into the active region.

Abstract: A semiconductor imager comprises a first and a second region (41, 42) which have a conductivity type opposite to a substrate (21) and are reverse biassed relative to the substrate beneath photosensitive regions (22) of each row and a reading device (26, 33) for the row, respectively, to be completely and not to be completely depleted, respectively. The imager may or may not comprise such a covering region (77) on each photosensitive region as may have the conductivity type of the first and the second regions and be not completely depleted. It is possible to provide a line sensor or a photodiode of a similar structure. Preferably, the first and the second regions have a common impurity concentration lower than the photosensitive regions and are respectively thinner and thicker relative to each other. The covering region preferably has the impurity concentration of each channel stopper (23).

Abstract: A two-dimensional, imaging device has a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type, an orthogonal array of photosensitive regions of opposite conductivity type, charge transfer gates and charge transfer channels separating columns of the orthogonal array. A gate pulse generator applies a gate pulse to the charge transfer gates. A clock pulse generator applies a two phase clock to the charge transfer channels. The charge transfer channels include electrode pairs, each of which is formed by a charge storage electrode and a potential barrier electrode which are arranged so that a charge storage electrode of one pair is connected to a potential barrier electrode of an adjacent pair, to receive the same clock pulse.