SOLID STATE IMAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DRIVING THE SAME

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a solid state imaging apparatus capable of reducing the rise of minimum depletion voltage which is increased following the microfabrication of an element. SOLUTION: The solid state imaging apparatus comprises: a semiconductor substrate for demarcating a two-dimensional surface; a vertical charge transfer device including many photoelectric conversion elements arranged over a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, a plurality of vertical charge transfer channels arrayed between rows of respective photoelectric conversion elements in the vertical direction and a plurality of transfer electrodes formed on the upper part of the vertical charge transfer channels and arrayed in the horizontal direction; and reading parts including reading electrodes to be used also as transfer electrodes constituting the vertical charge transfer device, corresponding to respective photoelectric conversion elements and capable of reading out signal charge accumulated in the corresponding photoelectric conversion element to the vertical charge transfer channel adjacent to the corresponding photoelectric conversion element in the row direction. At the time of reading out signal charge from the photoelectric conversion element, voltage capable of accumulating signal charge in the vertical charge transfer channel arrayed at least under the transfer electrode is applied to at least one transfer electrode adjacent to the reading electrode in a reading period for applying voltage capable of reading out the signal charge to the reading electrode. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI