Solid-state imaging apparatus and method of driving the same

摘要

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally in a matrix, a reference signal generating circuit adapted to generate a ramp signal, a counter circuit adapted to perform a counting operation according to output of the ramp signal, comparators arranged on a column by column basis and adapted to compare signals read out of the pixels with the ramp signal, and memories arranged on a column by column basis and adapted to store digital data, wherein if output of the comparator is not changed during an AD conversion period, digital data of a predetermined value is stored in the memory. The solid-state imaging apparatus implements overflow handling using a simplified circuit configuration.

主权项

1. A solid-state imaging apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of pixels arranged two-dimensionally in a matrix, and each outputting a pixel signal; a reference signal generating circuit configured to generate a reference signal that changes a signal level monotonously with time; a plurality of comparators each arranged corresponding to each of columns of the plurality of pixels, and configured to compare the pixel signal with the reference signal; a plurality of memories arranged each correspondingly to each of the plurality of comparators; a counter starting a counting operation according to an output of the reference signal from the reference signal generating circuit, configured to count clock pulses to generate a count signal and configured to supply the count signal to the plurality of memories; and a data supplying unit configured to supply digital data of a predetermined value to the plurality of memories before the comparing, the predetermined value being a value indicating a saturation level of the pixel signal, configured to not renew the digital data from the predetermined value when an output of the comparator does not change as a result of the comparing, and configured to renew the digital data from the predetermined value into a signal value of the count signal when an output of the comparator changes as a result of the comparing.