| US 7,595,822 B2 | ||
| Driving method of solid-state image pickup device | ||
| Tomohiro Sakamoto, Kurokawa-gun (Japan); and Tetsuo Yamada, Kurokawa-gun (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Fujifilm Corporation, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Oct. 24, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/585,145. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2005-323377 (JP), filed on Nov. 08, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0103573 A1, May 10, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. H04N 5/235 (2006.01); H04N 5/335 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 348—230.1 [348/296; 348/294] | 6 Claims |

| 4. A driving method of a solid-state image pickup device, the solid-state image pickup device comprising:
a first-conductive-type semiconductor substrate;
a second-conductive-type well that is formed in the semiconductor substrate, corresponding to an inverse-type of the first-conductive-type;
a charge storage region that is formed by arranging a plurality of the first-conductive-type charge storage regions formed
in the well like a matrix and stores a signal charge generated in accordance with the amount of incident light;
a vertical transfer channel of the first-conductive-type that is formed in the well along a column of the charge storage region
arranged like the matrix, reads the signal charges stored to the charge storage region, and transfers the signal charges in
the column direction;
a line-memory transfer path of the first-conductive-type the that is formed in the well, is connected to an end of the vertical
transfer channel, and holds the signal charges from the vertical transfer channel; and
a horizontal transfer channel of the first-conductive-type that is formed in the well, is connected to an end of the line-memory
transfer path, and transfers the signal charges transferred from the line-memory transfer path in the row direction,
wherein the signal charges stored to the charge storage region are read to the vertical transfer channel, are transferred
to the horizontal transfer channel once during one horizontal blanking period, and the signal charge are output,
the driving method comprising the steps of:
transferring signal charges on a first row from the vertical transfer channel to the line memory during the first horizontal
blanking period;
partly transferring the signal charges from the line memory to the horizontal transfer channel during a second horizontal
blanking period;
transferring the remaining signal charges on the first row from the line memory to the horizontal transfer channel during
a third horizontal blanking period; and
thereafter transferring signal charges on a second row next to the first row from the vertical transfer channel to the line
memory that becomes vacant.
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