Method of driving solid-state imaging device

摘要

The present invention has an object of providing a method of driving a solid-state imaging device which can reduce reading voltage even when transfer electrodes adjacent to reading electrodes are smaller than the reading electrodes as a result of miniaturization of pixels. The solid-state imaging device includes photodiodes and vertical CCDs each including transfer electrodes. The method includes: reading signal charges from the photodiodes by setting the electric potential of a predetermined transfer electrode among the reading electrodes to the electric potential VH; transferring the read signal charges in a column direction by applying driving pulses having electric potentials VM and VL to the transfer electrodes. Each of the reading electrodes has a larger area than the adjacent transfer electrodes. In reading the signal charges, while the electric potential VH is being applied, the electric potential of one of the transfer electrodes adjacent to the predetermined reading electrode is set to the electric potential VM, and the electric potentials of the other one of the transfer electrodes adjacent to the predetermined reading electrode and a reading electrode other than the predetermined electrode are changed.