Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device which includes, on a semiconductor substrate, an image pickup area which includes plural columns of pixels, and plural column amplifier circuits each provided at each column of pixels or at every plural columns of pixels, wherein: each of the column amplifier circuits includes at least two amplifier circuit stages; a preceding amplifier circuit is a variable-gain amplifier circuit and the switchable gains include plural one or more gains; and a subsequent amplifier circuit is capable of amplifying, at one or more gains, the signal amplified at one or more gains in the preceding amplifier circuit.

Abstract: In a photoelectric conversion device capable of adding signals of photoelectric conversion elements included in each of photoelectric conversion units, each of the photoelectric conversion elements includes a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type for collecting a signal charge, a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type is arranged between the photoelectric conversion elements arranged adjacent to each other and included in the photoelectric conversion unit, and a third semiconductor region of the second conductivity type is arranged between the photoelectric conversion elements arranged adjacent to each other among the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and included in different photoelectric conversion units arranged adjacent to each other. An impurity concentration of the second semiconductor region is lower than an impurity concentration of the third semiconductor region.

Abstract: After accumulating electric charges in pixels in first, second, and third rows, signals are output from the pixels in the first and second rows in a first frame, and thereafter, after accumulating electric charges in the pixels in the first row without accumulating electric charges in the pixels in the second and third rows, signals are output from the pixels in the first and third rows in a second frame following the first frame. Furthermore, the photoelectric conversion units of the pixels in the second and third rows are reset by the resetting units included in the pixels in the second and third rows in the first frame.

Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of pixels for focus detection by a phase difference detection scheme. The pixel includes a semiconductor region provided therein with a plurality of photoelectric converters configured so that signals therefrom are independently read out, a microlens, and a lens surface arranged between the microlens and the semiconductor region, wherein the lens surface exerts a negative power on light which passes through the microlens toward the semiconductor region.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device includes a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels including a photoelectric conversion portion, a charge holding portion, a floating diffusion, and a transfer portion. The pixel also includes a beneath-holding-portion isolation layer and a pixel isolation layer. An end portion on a photoelectric conversion portion side of the pixel isolation layer is away from the photoelectric conversion portion compared to an end portion on a photoelectric conversion portion side of the beneath-holding-portion isolation layer, and an N-type semiconductor region constituting part of the photoelectric conversion portion is disposed under at least part of the beneath-holding-portion isolation layer.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device which includes, on a semiconductor substrate, an image pickup area which includes plural columns of pixels, and plural column amplifier circuits each provided at each column of pixels or at every plural columns of pixels, wherein: each of the column amplifier circuits includes at least two amplifier circuit stages; a preceding amplifier circuit is a variable-gain amplifier circuit and the switchable gains include plural one or more gains; and a subsequent amplifier circuit is capable of amplifying, at one or more gains, the signal amplified at one or more gains in the preceding amplifier circuit.

Abstract: In a photoelectric conversion apparatus that adds signals of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements included in photoelectric conversion units, each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements includes a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type that collects signal carriers. The first semiconductor regions included in photoelectric conversion elements that are included in each of the photoelectric conversion units and that are arranged adjacent to each other sandwich a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type. A height of a potential barrier for the signal carriers generated in a certain region of the second semiconductor region is smaller than a height of a potential barrier for the signal carriers generated in a third semiconductor region between each of the first semiconductor regions and an overflow drain region of the first conductivity type.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging apparatus including a plurality of pixels each including: a first holding portion for holding signal carriers from a photoelectric conversion portion; an amplifying portion for amplifying and reading a signal based on the signal carriers generated in the photoelectric conversion portion; and a carrier discharging control portion for discharging charge carriers in the photoelectric conversion portion to an OFD region, and having a carrier path between the photoelectric conversion portion and the first carrier holding portion, in which the solid-state imaging apparatus further includes a second carrier holding portion electrically connected with the first carrier portion in parallel through a first transfer unit, when viewed from an output node of the photoelectric conversion portion, thereby smoothing an movie imaging without causing discontinuous frame while suppressing generation of noise mixing into the charge carrier holding portion.

Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes a semiconductor region including a plurality of photoelectric converters from which signals are allowed to be independently read out; a first microlens; and a second microlens which is arranged between the first microlens and the semiconductor region, wherein the second microlens includes a central portion and a peripheral portion that surrounds the central portion, and a power of the peripheral portion is a positive value and larger than a power of the central portion.

Abstract: A method for forming a photo diode is provided. The method includes: forming a first bottom electrode corresponding to a first pixel and a second bottom electrode corresponding to a second pixel over a substrate; forming a dielectric layer over the substrate; patterning the dielectric layer over the substrate; forming a photo conversion layer over the substrate; and forming a top electrode over the photo conversion layer; forming a color filter layer over the top electrode, wherein at least a portion of the dielectric layer separates a first portion of the color filter layer corresponding to a first pixel from a second portion of the color filer layer corresponding to a second pixel, and a refractive index of the dielectric layer is lower than a refractive index of the color filter layer.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging apparatus comprises a plurality of pixel units forming a pixel array, and a plurality of processing portions each corresponding to each column of the pixel array respectively, and each of the plurality of processing portions comprising a first front-side capacitor configured to hold a first signal having a noise component, a second front-side capacitor configured to hold a second signal having the noise component and a signal component, a first transfer portion configured to transfer the first signal from the first front-side capacitor to a first back-side capacitor, and a second transfer portion configured to transfer the second signal from the second front-side capacitor to a second back-side capacitor, wherein positions of the first and the second transfer portions are different from each other in a direction of the column.

Abstract: In a photoelectric conversion apparatus including a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel including a photoelectric conversion unit, first and second holding units that hold electric charge, a first transfer unit that connects the photoelectric conversion unit and the first holding unit, a second transfer unit that connects the first and second holding units, and a third transfer unit that connects the photoelectric conversion unit and a power supply, each pixel is controlled so that the potential of the third transfer unit for electric charge held in the photoelectric conversion unit is higher than that of the first transfer unit at least during a charge accumulation period of the pixel, and thereafter, the potential of the third transfer unit is higher than that of the photoelectric conversion unit while the potentials of the first and second transfer units are lower than that of the photoelectric conversion unit.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device includes a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels including a photoelectric conversion portion, a charge holding portion, a floating diffusion, and a transfer portion. The pixel also includes a beneath-holding-portion isolation layer and a pixel isolation layer. An end portion on a photoelectric conversion portion side of the pixel isolation layer is away from the photoelectric conversion portion compared to an end portion on a photoelectric conversion portion side of the beneath-holding-portion isolation layer, and an N-type semiconductor region constituting part of the photoelectric conversion portion is disposed under at least part of the beneath-holding-portion isolation layer.

Abstract: In the solid-state imaging apparatus, the carrier holding portion is arranged at a position in a first direction from a photoelectric conversion portion, a floating diffusion region is arranged at a position in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction from the carrier holding portion with a transfer portion sandwiched between the floating diffusion region and the carrier holding portion, the carrier holding portion included in the first pixel is arranged between the photoelectric conversion portion included in the first pixel and the photoelectric conversion portion included in the second pixel, the carrier holding portion included in the first pixel is covered with a light shielding portion, and the light shielding portion extends over a part of each of the photoelectric conversion portions included in the first and second pixels.

Abstract: An embodiment of an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention includes, on a semiconductor substrate, an imaging area having a plurality of pixel columns and a plurality of column circuits each of which is provided for each pixel column or a plurality of pixel columns. Each of the column circuits has a first circuit block and a second circuit block, and the first and second circuit blocks receive a bias voltage via a common wire. The first circuit block includes an amplifier circuit. The second circuit block is configured to be capable of switching between a first mode and a second mode with smaller power consumption than the first mode. A shift period from the second mode to the first mode by the second circuit block is a period excluding a period during which an amplifier circuit in the first circuit block is performing an amplifying operation.

Abstract: In a photoelectric conversion apparatus including a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel including a photoelectric conversion unit, first and second holding units that hold electric charge, a first transfer unit that connects the photoelectric conversion unit and the first holding unit, a second transfer unit that connects the first and second holding units, and a third transfer unit that connects the photoelectric conversion unit and a power supply, each pixel is controlled so that the potential of the third transfer unit for electric charge held in the photoelectric conversion unit is higher than that of the first transfer unit at least during a charge accumulation period of the pixel, and thereafter, the potential of the third transfer unit is higher than that of the photoelectric conversion unit while the potentials of the first and second transfer units are lower than that of the photoelectric conversion unit.

Abstract: A method for forming a photo diode is provided. The method includes: forming a first bottom electrode corresponding to a first pixel and a second bottom electrode corresponding to a second pixel over a substrate; forming a dielectric layer over the substrate; patterning the dielectric layer over the substrate; forming a photo conversion layer over the substrate; and forming a top electrode over the photo conversion layer; forming a color filter layer over the top electrode, wherein at least a portion of the dielectric layer separates a first portion of the color filter layer corresponding to a first pixel from a second portion of the color filer layer corresponding to a second pixel, and a refractive index of the dielectric layer is lower than a refractive index of the color filter layer.

Abstract: A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes: a first semiconductor region forming a part of a photoelectric conversion element; a second semiconductor region stacked on the first semiconductor region, and forming a part of the photoelectric conversion element; a third semiconductor region to which a signal charge transferred from the photoelectric conversion element; a fourth semiconductor region of the first conductivity type having an higher impurity concentration, between the first and third semiconductor region and between the second and third semiconductor regions, closer to a main surface than the first semiconductor region, and connected to the first semiconductor region; a first gate electrode over the fourth semiconductor region, an insulating film on the main surface and between the first gate electrode and the fourth semiconductor region; and a second gate electrode between the third and fourth semiconductor regions, and over the insulating film.

Abstract: An image pickup device is provided, capable of complete correction with data of once analog-to-digital conversion, and prevention of excess use of switches and analog devices and/or erroneous correction, including: an image sensor having a plurality of analog-to-digital converters determining conversion results from a digital signal of higher order bit through separate steps of two or more times; a first correction unit which has a correction factor for correcting nonlinear errors of the plurality of analog-to-digital converters so as to adapt to the analog-to-digital converters and corrects a nonlinear error of a digital signal output from respective analog-to-digital converters based on a correction factor corresponding to respective analog-to-digital converters, characterized in that the first correction unit corrects the nonlinear errors after converting the digital signals from the plurality of analog-to-digital converters into a serial output.

Abstract: An electronic device includes a power receiving unit and a secondary battery. The electronic device can send an instruction to an outside to stop power transmission, and operates by a discharge current of the secondary battery. In a case where the secondary battery is charged and a voltage of the secondary battery becomes higher than a first threshold and lower than a second threshold larger than the first threshold, charging of the secondary battery is stopped without sending the instruction to stop the power transmission, and after an elapse of a predetermined period of time, the charging of the secondary battery is restarted. When the voltage of the secondary battery thereafter becomes higher than the second threshold, the instruction to stop the power transmission is sent, and the charging of the secondary battery is stopped.