A solid-state imaging device includes a light receiving section formed by such exposure as to stitch a plurality of patterns in a first direction on a semiconductor substrate. The light receiving section includes a plurality of pixels disposed in a two-dimensional array in the first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Electric charges are transferred in the second direction in each of pixel columns consisting of a plurality of pixels disposed in the second direction, among the plurality of pixels.

An image sensing system includes a panel and an image sensing circuit. The panel includes a plurality of sensing pixels, a plurality of sensing lines and at least one first current source. Each of the plurality of sensing lines is coupled to a line of sensing pixels among the plurality of sensing pixels. Each of the at least one first current source is coupled to one of the plurality of sensing lines. The image sensing circuit, coupled to the panel, includes at least one second current source, each of which is coupled to one of the plurality of sensing lines. Wherein, a first sensing line among the plurality of sensing lines is coupled to a first current source among the at least one first current source and coupled to a second current source among the at least one second current source.

A ranging method uses a light source and a range sensor. The range sensor includes a charge-generating area and first and second charge-accumulating areas. Charges generated in the charge-generating area are transferred to the first charge-accumulating area during a first period so as to be accumulated in the first charge-accumulating area and the second charge-accumulating area during a second period so as to be accumulated in the second charge-accumulating area. A distance d to an object OJ is arithmetized based on a quantity of charges accumulated in the first charge-accumulating area and a quantity of charges accumulated in the second charge-accumulating area. When pulse light is emitted from the light source, the pulse light whose light-intensity stable period within the emission period of the pulse light is set in advance to be longer than each of the first and second periods is emitted from the light source.

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes first, second, and third semiconductor regions. The third semiconductor region has a second conductivity type. The third semiconductor region extends from a region below the second semiconductor region of a first pixel to a region below the second semiconductor region of a second pixel in the first and second pixels adjacent to each other among a plurality of pixels.

Image sensors are provided. The image sensor may include a photodiode formed in a substrate, a lower interlayer dielectric layer formed over the substrate, a drive transistor gate electrode formed over the lower interlayer dielectric layer, and a transfer transistor gate electrode including an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the transfer transistor gate electrode may be formed over the drive transistor gate electrode. The lower portion of the transfer transistor gate electrode may be formed in a pillar shape and vertically extends from the upper portion of the transfer transistor gate electrode through the drive transistor gate electrode and the lower interlayer dielectric layer into the substrate.

A solid state imaging device has: a photosensitive part containing a plurality of charge transfer parts that transfer, in column units, the signal charges of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements disposed in a matrix; a conversion/output unit that converts, to an electrical signal, the signal charges forwarded by the charge transfer parts; a peripheral circuit part that performs a predetermined process with respect to the electrical signals from the conversion/output part; a relay part that relays the forwarding to the peripheral circuit part of the electrical signal from the conversion/output part; a first substrate where a photosensitive part and the conversion/output part are formed; and a second substrate where the peripheral circuit part is formed. The first and second substrates are stacked together, and the relay part electrically connects the conversion/output part formed at the first substrate to the peripheral circuit part formed at the second substrate.

A solid-state imaging device includes a plurality of photoelectric converting units and a plurality of charge-accumulating units each accumulating a charge generated in the corresponding photoelectric converting unit. The photoelectric converting unit includes a photosensitive region that generates the charge in accordance with light incidence, and an electric potential gradient forming unit that accelerates migration of charge in a second direction in the photosensitive region. The charge-accumulating unit includes: a plurality of regions (semiconductor layers) having an impurity concentration gradually changed in one way in the second direction, and electrodes adapted to apply electric fields to the plurality of regions. Each of the electrodes is disposed over the plurality of regions having the impurity concentration gradually varied.

The present technology relates to a solid-state imaging element and an electronic device capable of improving image quality of the solid-state imaging element. The solid-state imaging element includes a photoelectric conversion unit adapted to photoelectrically convert incident light incident from a predetermined incident surface. Also, the solid-state imaging element includes a wire arranged on a bottom surface side that is an opposite surface of the incident surface of the photoelectric conversion unit, and formed with a protruding pattern on a surface facing the photoelectric conversion unit. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a solid-state imaging element such as a CMOS image sensor, and an electronic device including the solid-state imaging element.

A pixel arrangement includes a photodiode, a reset transistor configured to be controlled by a reset signal and coupled to a reset input voltage, a transfer gate transistor configured to transfer charge from the photodiode to a node, wherein the transfer gate transistor is controlled by a transfer gate voltage, and a source follower transistor controlled by the voltage on the node and coupled to a source follower voltage. A capacitor is coupled between the node and an input voltage. During a read operation the input voltage is increased to boost the voltage at the node. The increased input voltage may, for example, be one the reset input voltage, said source follower voltage, said transfer gate voltage and a boosting voltage.

There is configured a solid-state image pickup unit including a photoelectric conversion section formed on a light incident side of a substrate; a first charge accumulation section accumulating a signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section; a second charge accumulation section formed in a region other than a light-condensing region where incident light is condensed in the substrate on a side opposite to a light incident side and formed to be laminated together with the first charge accumulation section in a depth direction of the substrate; and a floating diffusion section formed in a region other than the light-condensing region in the substrate on the side opposite to the light incident side and converting the signal charge into a voltage.