US 7,514,663 B2
Imaging apparatus having a read out circuit unit with dual readout operation and method of improving a frame rate
Tomoyuki Yagi, Honjo (Japan); Tadao Endo, Honjo (Japan); Toshio Kameshima, Kumagaya (Japan); Katsuro Takenaka, Honjo (Japan); and Keigo Yokoyama, Honjo (Japan)
Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Jun. 19, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/765,107.
Claims priority of application No. 2006-213470 (JP), filed on Aug. 04, 2006.
Prior Publication US 2008/0029688 A1, Feb. 07, 2008
Int. Cl. H01L 27/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 250—208.1  [250/214 R] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An imaging apparatus comprising:
an area sensor in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix, the pixels including conversion elements for converting incident radiation or light into electric charge;
a drive circuit unit for supplying a drive signal to a plurality of drive wirings arranged in a column direction, wherein each of the drive wirings is connected commonly to a plurality of pixels arranged in a row direction;
a read out circuit unit for reading out signals from the pixels through a plurality of signal wirings arranged in the row direction, wherein each of the signal wirings is connected commonly to the plurality of pixels arranged in the column direction; and
a processing unit processing signals transferred from the read out circuit unit, wherein
N is an integer of one or more,
M is an integer of two or more and always greater than N,
the drive circuit unit and the read out circuit unit perform a first operation in which signals are simultaneously read out from N pixels in a first area of the area sensor and a second operation in which signals are simultaneously read out from M pixels in a second area except the first area of the area sensor,
the first and the second read out operations are continuously performed in a period while signals for one frame are read out from pixels of the area sensor, and
a first signal obtained by the first read out operation and a second signal obtained by the second read out operation are continuously transferred from the read out circuit unit to the processing unit.