A solid-state imaging element of the present disclosure a pixel. The pixel includes a charge accumulation unit that accumulates a charge photoelectrically converted by a photoelectric conversion unit, a reset transistor that selectively applies a reset voltage to the charge accumulation unit, an amplification transistor having a gate electrode electrically connected to the charge accumulation unit, and a selection transistor connected in series to the amplification transistor. Additionally, the solid-state imaging element includes a first wiring electrically connecting the charge accumulation unit and the gate electrode of the amplification transistor, a second wiring electrically connected to a common connection node of the amplification transistor and the selection transistor and formed along the first wiring, and a third wiring electrically connecting the amplification transistor and the selection transistor.

An image sensor is provided. The image sensor includes a pixel array including first and second pixels, the first and second pixels receiving the same transfer gate signal and outputting first and second signal voltages, respectively, a transfer gate driver receiving first and second voltages and generating the transfer gate signal, the transfer gate signal having the first voltage as its maximum voltage and having the second voltage as its minimum voltage and a compensation module detecting a variation in the second voltage, generating a compensation voltage based on the variation in the second voltage, and performing a compensation operation.

Provided is a solid-state image pickup element that amplifies the difference between respective signals of a pair of pixels and enables a reduction in the number of wiring lines. The solid-state image pickup element includes an electric-charge accumulation unit, a reference reset transistor, and a readout reset transistor. The electric-charge accumulation unit accumulates electric charge transferred from a photoelectric conversion unit and generates signal voltage corresponding to the amount of the electric charge. The reference reset transistor supplies predetermined reset voltage to the electric-charge accumulation unit in a case of generating predetermined reference voltage. The readout reset transistor supplies voltage different from the reset voltage to the electric-charge accumulation unit in a case of reading out the signal voltage.

An imaging device includes a pixel array with a plurality of pixels each configured to generate a reset signal and an image signal, a sampling circuit including a plurality of samplers connected to column lines, where each sampler generates a first comparison signal by comparing the reset signal with a ramp signal and generates a second comparison signal by comparing the image signal with the ramp signal. An ADC converts each of the first and second comparison signals into a digital signal. Each sampler performs an auto-zero operation for initializing itself before performing the comparing with respect to the reset signal in a first mode, and performs a respective auto-zero operation before performing the comparing for each of the reset signal and the image signal in a second mode.

A second substrate including a pixel circuit that outputs a pixel signal on a basis of electric charges outputted from the sensor pixel and a third substrate including a processing circuit that performs signal processing on the pixel signal are provided. The first substrate, the second substrate, and the third substrate are stacked in this order. A semiconductor layer including the pixel circuit is divided by an insulating layer. The insulating layer divides the semiconductor layer to allow a center position of a continuous region of the semiconductor layer or a center position of a region that divides the semiconductor layer to correspond to a position of an optical center of the sensor pixel, in at least one direction on a plane of the sensor pixel perpendicular to an optical axis direction.

An overlight amount detection circuit (1) according to the present disclosure includes a MOS transistor and a high-impedance element (Ca). A source of the MOS transistor (Mn1) is connected to a vertical signal line (VSL) of an image sensor. The high-impedance element (Ca) is connected to a drain of the MOS transistor (Mn1). The overlight amount detection circuit (1) detects a potential fluctuation of the vertical signal line (VSL) based on a potential defined by a gate potential of the MOS transistor (Mn1), and outputs a potential of a contact point between the drain of the MOS transistor (Mn1) and the high-impedance element (Ca) as a signal indicating an overlight amount detection result.

An image sensor and a method of operating the same are provided. The image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type; a photoelectric conversion region provided in the semiconductor substrate and doped to have a second conductivity type; a first floating diffusion region provided to receive photocharges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion region; a transfer gate electrode disposed between and connected to the first floating diffusion region and the photoelectric conversion region; a dual conversion gain transistor disposed between and connected to the first floating diffusion region and a second floating diffusion region; and a reset transistor disposed between and connected to the second floating diffusion region and a pixel power voltage region, wherein a channel region of the reset transistor has a potential gradient increasing in a direction from the second floating diffusion region toward the pixel power voltage region.

A solid state imaging device includes a pixel array unit in which color filters of a plurality of colors are arrayed with four pixels of vertical 2 pixels×horizontal 2 pixels as a same color unit that receives light of the same color, shared pixel transistors that are commonly used by a plurality of pixels are intensively arranged in one predetermined pixel in a unit of sharing, and a color of the color filter of a pixel where the shared pixel transistors are intensively arranged is a predetermined color among the plurality of colors. The present technology can be applied, for example, to a solid state imaging device such as a back-surface irradiation type CMOS image sensor.

An image sensor includes a pixel portion in which a plurality of unit pixels each having one micro lens and a plurality of photoelectric conversion portions are arrayed in a matrix, a signal readout portion that reads out signals accumulated in the photoelectric conversion portions and converts the read signals to digital signals, a signal processor that processes signals read out by the signal readout portion and has an image capture signal processor that performs signal processing for generating a captured image on signals read out by the signal readout portion and a focus detection signal processor that performs signal processing for focus detection on signals read out by the signal readout portion, and an output portion that outputs signals processed by the signal processor.

To generate a value unique to a device in a more preferable mode. A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of unit pixels disposed in a two-dimensional array, and a drive control unit that controls a first drive to output signals from the unit pixels included in a first unit pixel group of the plurality of unit pixels as an image signal, and a second drive to detect variations in respective signals from two or more of the unit pixels included in a second unit pixel group of the plurality of unit pixels, in which the first unit pixel group and the second unit pixel group have different structures from each other.